


Remember Me for Centuries

by savechangbin2019



Series: Twin Flames - A Seungjin AU [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angel Hwang Hyunjin, Angel Yang Jeongin, Angst, Archangel Bang Chan, Attempt at Humor, Demon Kim Seungmin, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minho is Satan btw, Sad, Slow Burn, So thats fun, Strangers to Lovers, Twin flames au, and it hurts way more, but way better, its sort of like a, or should i say
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2019-12-25 22:48:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18270737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savechangbin2019/pseuds/savechangbin2019
Summary: Hyunjin and Seungmin are just about as opposite as you can get.There’s absolutely no way they should ever have anything in common, yet after a strange “coincidence” allows them to meet in the dark of one lonely night, they both feel an instant connection that neither of them can explain.They discover a part of themselves that was always missing and then they fall in love very quickly.AKAthe story in which Seungmin is a demon and Hyunjin is an angel. They technically aren’t allowed to be together but that sure as hell isn’t gonna stop them trying.[prequel to Twin Flames][ON HIATUS]





	1. The Night We Met

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven’t read my oneshot Twin Flames, read it before you read this for context.
> 
> Or don’t. I can’t force you.

  
  


 

When Hyunjin left him in that alleyway, for what he believed the be the final time, Seungmin had a million thoughts running through his head at once, but the one overwhelming thought was: Was that really it? Was this really the end for them?

When Seungmin had been with Hyunjin, he’d felt important. Powerful. That wasn’t something he’d ever felt before. It _had_ to mean something, didn’t it?

 

Theirs was a pretty unconventional story and he wasn’t sure anyone would care enough to hear it, but it mattered to him. Maybe he didn’t matter at all, especially not in the grand scheme of everything that was, is and would be. He knew he didn’t matter to the angels, and he wasn’t sure he’d done enough to matter to the demons, but what he’d had with Hyunjin? That didn’t just go away. It was cursed and beautiful and quite possibly doomed from the very beginning, but it felt bigger than he was, than Hyunjin was too. It _had_ to matter.

 

It would turn out that his instincts were right and that he and Hyunjin would matter a whole lot in the near future, but that’s a very long story for another time. For now, let’s go back to their humble beginnings, to a time when they were complete strangers.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“You’re fuckin’ pathetic.”

 

Seungmin cried out in pain as his back slammed into a wall. He clutched his throbbing cheek, a metallic taste in his mouth, the mark of a fist very visible on his skin.

 

“Come on, haven’t you guys had enough already?” He asked through gritted teeth, spitting blood onto the ground. The demons in front of him only laughed, before one of them kicked him in the stomach, sending him falling to the ground.

 

“Of you? Never,” one of them taunted.

 

“Seriously though, what does this do for you? I don’t even know you guys. We don’t work together.” Seungmin pulled himself shakily to his feet, trying to ignore his burning ribs.

 

“We know _you_ though.” one of them grabbed Seungmin and slammed him into the wall again. It hurt so much that tears threatened to burn in his eyes but he wouldn’t cry in front of anyone. He refused to. “You’re the big guy’s pet, aren’t you? He sure knows how to pick his _favourites_.”

 

Seungmin looked between the two of them. “This is jealousy? That’s it? This is because Satan prefers me over you?”

 

“Fuck off,” the one holding him against the wall growled.

 

“I’d love to but you’re sort of preventing me from doing that, asshole,” Seungmin shot back at him, immediately regretting his words when the man wrapped his disgusting, filthy fingers around his throat and began to squeeze.

 

Seungmin gasped as his air supply was cut off, grabbing blindly at the hands on his neck.

 

He was used to this. To provide some context, this happened to him at least once a week and he simply didn’t care anymore. It was no secret that the devil had a soft spot for him, but it wasn’t like he was the only one. There was a group of demons who all had Satan’s trust and he just happened to be at the top of the list. He wasn’t sure why because there was nothing special about him, but he just was.

 

That obviously didn’t sit well with other demons, but in all fairness, perhaps the fact that Seungmin didn’t go around beating up random strangers for no reason contributed to why he was more respected.

 

Now surely someone so high up on the hierarchy in hell would be deeply feared and respected, wouldn’t they? Nope. Seungmin smiled too much and had weird nervous ticks and behaved in strange ways and, in general, wasn’t that scary. His friend Felix had likened him to a puppy once and Seungmin still wasn’t sure what to make of that.

 

His total lack of demonic qualities paired with the fact that he wouldn’t fight back, nor would he tell anyone, made him a rather attractive target to demons on the bottom tier who may be bitter or resentful about being sent to hell. They were usually the ones who had escaped Sector 2, the place where all the mid-level sinners go; thiefs, lawyers, politicians, close-up magicians, those weird clowns at children’s birthday parties, those kinds of sins. Nothing violent or incredibly harmful.

 

Those sinners went to Sector 3, which was a dark, damp place deep beneath the ground where the walls were permanently stained with blood and the smell of torture and eternal suffering breached your nose and made your eyes sting.

 

So, in short, here he was, Seungmin, probably the worst demon of all time (in his own humble opinion), giving in to the filthy hands of some lowlifes who couldn’t stand the fact that maybe Satan would like them more if they were a little bit less violent and a little bit more courteous as he always did his best to be. Satan respect you if you have _manners._

 

He usually just waited until they ran out of anger and got bored, which could be a while, or one his friends came to help him. Speaking of which...

 

“For fuck’s sake! Will you just leave him alone?”

 

The disgusting hands were ripped off him and he fell backwards onto the ground, wincing in pain.

 

He could always rely on Jackson to scare people off. He might be short, but he was a lot stronger than Seungmin and he was also incredibly loyal and kind to him too. Seungmin wasn’t sure why.

 

Alongside Jackson, who was still raining angry punches down on one of the demons while the other had run off like a coward, was Bambam. He was skinnier than Jackson but still looked intimidating. His looks were striking and made him look like he was the sort who thought he was superior to everyone, when in reality nothing could be further than the truth.

 

“Again?” Bambam extended a hand out to Seungmin, a sympathetic smile on his face. “How many times is it now?

 

“Sorry.” Seungmin took the hand and allowed Bambam to pull him up. His entire body hurt, but he’d heal quickly.

 

“You shouldn’t let a bunch of assholes from sector two push you around. You’re better than them.” Jackson walked back over to them casually, as if his hands _weren’t_ covered in blood and as if he _hadn’t_ just beaten some guy’s face in. “Are you going to tell _him?”_

 

“Am I gonna whine to the Devil about my problems, surprisingly no!” Seungmin rolled his eyes. “He’s got bigger problems than me.”

 

Jackson wore the same pitiful smile Bambam did, and Seungmin hated that his very existence warranted that look.

 

“You have to stand up for yourself then.” Jackson put a hand on his shoulder, in a way Seungmin knew was supposed to be supportive, since that’s what Jackson was like naturally, but it just sort of came off like he thought Seungmin was pathetic. He most likely didn’t think that, but Seungmin had a habit of projecting his own feelings onto other people and _he_ most _definitely_ thought of himself as pathetic.

 

“Did you guys want something?” Seungmin looked between them. He was on quite a secluded floor in hell, so if Jackson _and_ Bambam were both here, it means they needed to find him specifically. They were among a small group of people Seungmin actually trusted to know where he was going.

 

This place was where most of the “paperwork” got done in hell and Seungmin liked the quiet. Just empty rooms filled with piles upon piles of death records and criminal files, and long, winding corridors for him to isolate himself and usually, if he’s _really_ lucky, get the shit beaten out of him in. Good memories. Fun times.

 

“Oh shit, yeah.” Bambam grinned, just remembering what they were actually meant to be doing.

 

“ _He_ wants to see you,” Jackson told him. Seungmin raised an eyebrow.

 

“Did he say why?”

 

Jackson shrugged. “Just said he wanted to talk to you about something.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Seungmin stood outside the entrance of the room. It was one of the larger main halls. If you were looking for Satan, and if you are, you shouldn’t be, you’ll probably find him in there. As cliche as it might sound, Satan liked to stay in the darkness. He said it was comforting, but then, he was always quite melodramatic.

This part of hell is probably more what you imagine. Cobblestone floors, oil lamps lining the walls, a sort of damp smell? Not the most pleasant place in the world but Seungmin had seen far scarier places in hell. He’d rather not talk about that right now though, thank you very much.

 

The door to the room was a deep oak and towered over Seungmin and he had been staring at the rings in the wood for the past five minutes, trying to summon the courage to knock.

 

His brain was about to explode with all the possible ideas of what the devil could want to see him about. He probably shouldn’t be scared of him at this point, but he couldn’t help it. He was naturally anxious. Probably not what you’d expect from a demon, but there you go. He didn’t want to let people down, and if you knew his history with Satan, he owed him a lot. He couldn’t live with the knowledge that he’d disappointed him in someway. Why else could he possibly want to see him?

 

He raised his fist to the door, but stopped short.

 

“Just get it over with, you idiot,” he muttered angrily to himself. The longer he waited, the worse it would be.

 

“Seungmin?”

The demon stopped and looked around at the sound of a voice he didn’t recognise. He was greeted by a short, female demon with cropped black hair and bangs. She had a round pretty face and a soft smile and looked to be a little older than Seungmin was himself. Seungmin had never seen her before and he thought he knew most people at least in his area of hell.

“Sorry to bother you,” she apologised. “Minho asked me to pass on a message. He wanted to ask if you might be able to help out. There’s a few problems with an accidental summoning and the demons involved need help cleaning up. Minho said you wouldn’t mind, but if you didn’t want to do it, just to pass it on to Jae or Jinyoung when you see them.”

“No, I- that’s fine. I can do it, I just- I was about to go in and see him right now,” Seungmin pointed out, placing his palm flat against the door and looking at her suspiciously.

“Well you’ve been standing there for a while now and it didn’t look like you were gonna go in. He assumed you got nervous about seeing him and that’s why you were taking so long so he called me to find you and let you know. I’ve been looking for you for a while,” the girl explained. “You looked like you were about to set the door on fire, you were staring at it so hard.”

 

Seungmin’s cheeks turned slightly red. “I’m that obvious, huh?”

 

“It’s endearing, don’t worry.” She was smiling at him like they’d known each other for years, and Seungmin wasn’t quite sure what to do with a look like that, since he had absolutely no idea who she was. “So, will you do it?”

 

“Uh, of course.” Seungmin shook off his nerves and stood up straight. “So where is it?”

 

She informed him that where he needed to be was a street somewhere in the middle of Seoul, South Korea. He’d never visited there so it would be interesting at least.

 

“Okay, well thanks for letting me know.” Seungmin was about to turn around but paused. “Hey, what’s your name? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.”

The girl smiled with such fondness, like they were old friends, but it had been maybe a minute. “I’m Jimin. It’s really nice to meet you, Seungmin.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jimin. Maybe I’ll see you around,” Seungmin said, bowing to her slightly. “I should get going then.”

Her smile only grew. “Of course. Don’t want to be late. Good luck, Seungmin.”

Seungmin smiled once more, turning back around. He looked back to say one more thing to the strange girl, but the hallway was empty, with no trace of anyone ever having been there. It was like he’d blinked and she was gone.

 

“What-” he breathed, staring in disbelief, screwing up his eyes to try and clear his vision. She had just… vanished. Had he just hallucinated that whole thing?. “You’re finally losing it.”  
  


  


So, South Korea.

 

Seungmin wasn’t a fan of cities. Actually, he wasn’t really a fan of earth, but cities were filthy and full of _humans._ He could tolerate humans. He didn’t hate them. He liked the nice ones, and the younger they were, the better. Seungmin had met some humans who were pretty evil in his time. He had never been sure about why people were tortured deep in the bowels of hell, until he’d met some of them and learned why. Children couldn’t be evil, so he liked them. Anyway, that’s not the point.

 

Cities; dirty, loud, polluted, far too bright.

 

Thankfully, the address Jimin had given him had been in a quieter park next to somewhere called Han River. It was the dead of night so no one was there, which was a plus. It’s not like humans could see him. That would only happen if he wanted them too, and he _definitely didn’t._ He just liked the feeling of being completely alone.

 

Okay, he didn’t _like_ it, but it was less complicated than having to deal with other demons or people or whatever creature it may be.

 

The silence, however, was alarming. He had been told there was help needed, but there was no one here. Seungmin looked around the empty park, trying to make sure he got the right location.

 

“What is going on?” Seungmin muttered to himself, wandering around to look at the closest street sign to see if maybe he was at the wrong address.

Nope. He read the sign and this was the right place, so what was he looking for? He couldn’t feel any disturbances, and he usually would if a demon was involved.

 

A chill settled over him suddenly. The wind blew through the trees and the bushes, sending a jolt of nerves through him. There was _something_ wrong here, but it wasn’t a demon. Something lurking in the darkness that definitely didn’t belong there.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Hyunjin had had enough. You’d think being an angel would be incredible, right? It should be the best job in the world. Guiding souls which had passed onto the next stage of their existence, helping them find eternal peace, all that crap.

 

Well, Hyunjin hadn’t so much as laid a feathery finger on a human soul, or any other kind for that matter.

 

“Are you paying attention?”

 

Hyunjin snapped out of whatever daydream he’d been stuck in hastily, shaking the cloudy thoughts out of his head. “Sorry Chan.”

 

The blond archangel in front of him smiled understandingly, but his eyes were not smiling.

 

“It’s okay. Did you hear what I said?” Chan asked.

 

Hyunjin paused for a moment, before shaking his head, a glimmer of guilt running through him. Chan pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling heavily, clearly a lot more on his mind than just this.

 

Hyunjin was currently sat in an extremely formal office belonging to the angel in front of him. It was… well it was boring. So incredibly boring and also scary, although Hyunjin was easily scared. A large wooden desk sat right in front of him, the light from outside reflecting off the shiny surface.

 

“It’s fine. Okay, I’ll repeat it. So I’ve assigned you one of the cherubs to mentor since they’ve all reached a certain age now.” Chan folded his arms, leaning forwards and stared at him with such an intense look that Hyunjin couldn’t actually bear to make eye contact with him the entire time.  “His name is Jeongin and I’m trusting you with him in particular because I trust _you_ .”

Hyunjin had known he would’ve been getting some sort of assignment soon. He was getting older and that meant he’d eventually be trusted to help raise the younger angels. That’s just sort of the way things worked. Heaven was getting more and more crowded these days, what with the number of incoming souls rapidly increasing. Hyunjin had been personally raised by the archangels but that had been a different time. Earth was smaller. The entire universe was smaller. Hyunjin was shocked Chan even had time for _him_ anymore.

 

“What’s so special about him?” Hyunjin asked, self consciously clasping his hands together. He was scared of responsibility, since he’d never really had much in his life and he really didn’t want to let anyone down. That might be his biggest fear, and he felt like he let Chan down on a daily basis just in small ways, like not paying attention for example, and he hated the feeling. So many angels would kill to have Chan like them as much as he obviously liked Hyunjin and so, Hyunjin felt anxious about it all the time.

 

“I think he has a lot of potential. I can sense big things in his future. He’s really sweet too, and I trust that you can teach him properly.” Chan’s gaze softened, his eyes becoming warmer. Something about this _Jeongin_ obviously made him softer, Hyunjin observed. It was a nice look on Chan.“I think you two are quite similar actually. We try and match the personalities of the mentors with the cherubs, just to avoid conflict. I’ve met him a few times and he really reminds me of you.”

 

Hyunjin looked at Chan’s face for a few seconds before he said anything. Chan had kind features. Everything about him appeared as very kind, but he was also extraordinarily intimidating.

 

Hyunjin wasn’t sure what made him special, but Chan liked him for some reason and Chan was kind of a big deal. Well, more like the _biggest_ deal. What literally the single most powerful archangel in heaven saw in him was beyond Hyunjin. He had just always liked him for some reason.

 

He trusted Chan though. He easily trusted him with his life. He was his older brother and Hyunjin didn’t hesitate to trust him for even a second. The issue was that Chan wasn’t how he used to be and Hyunjin couldn’t say what had changed. Chan, when Hyunjin had still been a fledgling, had seemed a lot brighter, more friendly. Now, Hyunjin’s home had become like the military bases the humans had on earth. It was strict and colourless and Hyunjin _hated_ it.

 

That wasn’t Chan’s doing though, let’s make that clear. Hyunjin knew he was only following orders from _upstairs._ It was like a code that the angels absolutely had to follow no matter what. Chan was only doing his job but Hyunjin wished he’d just lighten up a little.

 

Chan sighed heavily, as if he was reading Hyunjin’s thoughts. He could do that, by the way. If he wanted to know what Hyunjin was thinking, he could read his thoughts instantly, and his higher ups encouraged him to keep tabs on the angels, to always monitor their thoughts and locations, but he wanted to give them _some_ sense of privacy so he chose to trust Hyunjin instead.

 

“Look, I know this is probably dull to you, but it has to get done.” Chan tried to give a sympathetic look, but to Hyunjin it looked strained and forced. “You understand why, don’t you? We were tasked with looking after the humans. That’s why we’re here.”

 

“I understand.” Hyunjin said it, but he didn’t mean it. He liked humans and he _loved_ earth, but he thought they were supposed to be allowed to think for themselves so he wasn’t exactly sure why the angels needed to watch over them and intervene so often. Monitoring their behaviour in small ways, like watching their dreams or reading their thoughts or meddling with their emotions and feelings. It didn’t sit well with Hyunjin. It just felt invasive. The idea of teaching a young angel something he didn’t personally agree with just felt wrong.

 

“Find Jisung and he’ll introduce you to Jeongin. He really is incredibly sweet. You’ll get along really well.” Something about Chan’s eyes changed whenever he mentioned Jeongin. Hyunjin suddenly recognised the look and a wave of jealousy washed over him. _He_ used to get that look from Chan when he was younger. Chan used to look at him with the same adoration that he was now showing this new angel. Hyunjin shouldn’t resent an angel he’d never met. He _shouldn’t_. Technically, he shouldn’t feel that towards anyone. Resentment wasn’t a very angelic quality. ”Take him to earth and show him the ropes. You remember your training. When you think he’s ready, report back to Changbin. I’m not expecting this to happen quickly though. Jeongin is still very young, so let him grow at his own pace. Do you understand?”

 

Hyunjin nodded, trying to hide how much this hurt.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Heaven isn’t how humans imagine it, let’s make that perfectly clear. Forget the fluffy clouds and pearly gates and bright light. That only existed to trick humans. For the angels, heaven was a grey building with a grey interior and a grey atmosphere. Everything was grey.

 

He had friends he loved, angels he considered family, but the place itself? It was beginning to make him miserable.

 

Hyunjin had been to earth enough times to recognise that the angels had adapted certain features that humans invented, unfortunately none of the fun ones. After about twenty minutes of walking past dozens of identical office cubicles and training rooms and rooms filled with nothing but files and angels who all looked bored out of their minds, Hyunjin finally found Jisung, hidden away in the corner of one of those rooms, chatting away to an angel Hyunjin didn’t know well, but knew went by the name of Mina.

 

Jisung was probably one of his closest friends. He was shorter and smaller in general than Hyunjin was, but quite a bit older. He didn’t seem like it, but he was. Hyunjin hadn’t even been born by the time he was almost fully grown. Still, they got on like there was no age difference between them.

 

There’s something that should be known about Jisung though. Something important. Hyunjin doesn’t know what it is though. That’s the thing. There’s just something about Jisung that Hyunjin doesn’t know. Something Jisung keeps very well hidden. Hyunjin loves his friend, but he’s not deaf. He hears the whispers about Jisung in heaven, and most of the whispers are as confused as he is. The angels didn’t ask questions about it. They all knew not to. Some of the whispers, however, said that Jisung used to be very different than he was now, as Hyunjin knew him. He was a different angel a very long time ago and then something happened that changed that.

 

Jisung would turn out to be very important in the future, but not for a while so don’t forget about him. He’s a very good natured angel with an infectious sense of humour and sad eyes that have a story behind them and Hyunjin cares about him a lot. It’s a good story too. Sad, but good. It very well may have a happy ending at some point too, but that’s up to Fate.

 

“Jisung!” Hyunjin waved at him, alerting him to his arrival. The shorter blond looked up from where he was and smiled when he saw Hyunjin. He bowed slightly, saying goodbye to Mina before she left and he walked over to greet Hyunjin.

 

“Finally, Hyunjinnie, I’ve been looking for you!”

 

“Chan sent me,” Hyunjin told him, to which Jisung nodded.

 

“Yeah, about Jeongin right? I’ll take you to meet him later but, something else came up.” Hyunjin raised his eyebrows, looking at Jisung. Jisung shrugged looking as confused as Hyunjin felt. “Do you know an angel called Jimin? Short with black hair?”

 

Hyunjin’s eyebrows furrowed. He knew a lot of angels, but the name didn’t ring a bell. “No? Why?”

Jisung frowned, biting his lip. “It’s just- she came over and told me to give you a message from Chan.”

 

“How- I was just with him. He told me to come right to you,” Hyunjin protested. Jisung shrugged again.

 

“She said you’d say that. She said that Chan wanted you to go and sort out a problem on earth. A _demon_ problem.”

 

“A- really?

 

Hyunjin’s brain immediately jumped to conclusions. This was a test. Chan was _testing_ him. This was a chance to prove himself. Chan knew Hyunjin had never even _seen_ a demon before. That must be why he asked _him_ to go.

 

“I can always go ask him-“ Jisung began to say before Hyunjin interrupted.

 

“Tell me where I need to go!”

 

Jisung sighed, a little exasperated. He’d know Hyunjin for such a long time. He really liked him, but he was really impulsive. He’d rather just leap into things, blinded by his unconditional eagerness to impress the angels higher up that him. When Hyunjin was like that, Jisung couldn’t get a word in edgeways and there was no holding him back and it reminded him of himself when he was Hyunjin’s age a long, _long_ time ago. He’d grown out of that and grown tired and the same would probably happen to Hyunjin to eventually. It was a shame really. Jisung missed being that lively.

 

“Fine, I’ll tell you but be careful, alright? This sort of stuff isn’t to be taken lightly,” Jisung warned him. Hyunjin nodded, eyes burning with determination.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


So that’s about how Hyunjin got himself into his current predicament. He had arrived at the location he was supposed to go to, somewhere in South Korea, and hadn’t seen a thing. It was the middle of the night and there wasn’t a disturbance to be found. He had wandered around for a bit, wondering if perhaps he’d gone to the wrong place when he heard it.

 

He felt something in the air change when a creature arrived behind him, and he knew it was the disturbance he’d been sent to deal with. It was a creature that shouldn’t be near him. He’d been warned against them for as long as he’d been alive.

 

No, he couldn’t just run. Chan had entrusted him with this task. It was important if Chan had said so, and Hyunjin was determined to prove himself so he did what any brave angel would do.

 

He leapt behind the first tree he saw and hid.

 

Like a coward.

 

 _In his defence_ , he hadn’t expected to be the only one here. Normally a group of angels would be sent out to deal with things like this and Hyunjin had never been one of those angels, so he had assumed this was some kind of test from Chan and he needed to pass.

 

Hyunjin peaked out from his hiding spot and a jolt of fear ran through him and he covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his sudden hyperventilating. He had looked straight at a demon and couldn’t even move. The demon was young and didn’t look very threatening. They could’ve been a similar age but Hyunjin was a few thousand years old and looked like a human who was about twenty so it didn’t say much. Hyunjin knew better than to trust appearances that easily. He didn’t get much of a look at the demon’s face, but he could _feel_ its presence. His angelic graced hummed within his DNA, telling him he should _not_ be this close to a creature like that, a creature that could so easily rip off his wings and murder him so effortlessly.

 

The noise of a bird flapping its wings and flying off a tree branch echoed through the air right above Hyunjin’s head and the demon froze, looking over in his direction. Hyunjin made eye contact with it and he felt such an immense, crippling, heart-stopping fear and hid himself again.

 

He could hear the footsteps coming closer and closer and screwed up his eyes, covering his head with his hands as if it would somehow protect him.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
Seungmin stepped closer to the tree, hand tightening around the handle of his knife. He’d looked into the eyes of something in the darkness that had stared right back at him and Seungmin couldn’t ignore the fact that it had freaked him out. Whatever it was knew he was there now so there was no hiding from it. He had no choice but to confront it.

 

“I know you’re there, and _you_ know I’m here. Just come out.”

Not a sound could be heard at first after he called, but the closer Seungmin listened, the more he could hear the faint heartbeat of whatever the creature was. It was erratic, almost like it was afraid. Seungmin’s brow furrowed in confusion. That was odd to say the least. It wasn’t a human, that was clear. The energy wasn’t right. A human’s precence wouldn’t feel this strong.

 

“This’ll be easier on both of us if you just come out.” By now, Seungmin was on the other side of the tree from where the creature was hiding. Nothing happened, and Seungmin sighed. He was wasting so much time just by being here. “Oh fuck it.”

  
Seungmin darted around the tree, grabbing the creature by the throat and pulling it into the light where he could see it.

 

“Huh? You’re..”  


It was an angel. An angel of all things. An extremely pretty one at that. Seungmin took in the shiny black hair and the scared, shining brown eyes and the full pink lips and- what was he saying again?

 

Oh, right. What the, pardon the pun, hell was a fucking angel doing hiding behind a tree in the dead of night? Seungmin had been lucky in that it had been a while since the last time he’d seen one of these feathery assholes but his disdain for them hadn’t diminished in the slightest, no matter how nice their appearance may appear to be.

 

“Let go,” The angel yelled, shoving his hands off, suddenly defensive rather than scared like before, perhaps a last ditch effort to try and escape, albeit a fairly fruitless one. Seungmin growled, shaking his own thoughts away, shoving the angel roughly against the tree and holding his knife to his throat. The angel inhaled sharply, wincing slightly as his back made contact with the angular texture of tree bark.

 

“Don’t even try that.” Seungmin warned quietly, smirking as he now had the upper hand, but he stopped suddenly. There was something in this angel’s eyes that he’d not seen before, something so unusual and sad and empty, something that he saw everyday only when he looked in the mirror.

Even stranger though, the angel did not struggle against him. He seemed to have resigned to his fate. That didn’t happen with angels. They were cocky and arrogant. Seungmin and all of his friends had almost been murdered by angels so many times purely for that fact that they were demons and no other reason. So what was this one not trying to attack him for?

 

It also felt really weird. Seungmin has so many angel stories he’s lost count and each one ended with him being attacked, as mentioned before, but here’s the thing. Each time, he had been able to sense the angel’s presence beforehand. His skin would crawl and his senses would flare up warning him about danger. This angel right in front of him felt different and Seungmin couldn’t say why and he didn’t like that at all. He didn’t feel repulsed by the angel and that very fact in turn made him feel very uncomfortable. Something was different and he didn’t like it one bit.

 

“Look, just get this over with, will you?” The angel’s voice was so dulled, like his grace and light had been extinguished. Seungmin’s grip slackened, taken aback, having never seen someone give in so quickly.

 

“What?”

The angel looked up at him, and seemed to tense as their eyes met. His wide, glistening eyes widened and he tilted his head quizzically.

 

“What are you?” He muttered, narrowing his eyes, looking him up and down, an action Seungmin really didn’t appreciate. He looked like he was feeling exactly what Seungmin was feeling. “If you’re some kind of incubus-“

“I’m not!” Seungmin yelled defensively, releasing the angel from his grip, suddenly outraged, the very word disgusting him. “That’s not how they work and we don’t associate with them, thank you very much.”

 

“Then... how are you doing that?” The question was asked in such a sincere tone, and Seungmin saw how the angel’s eyes stared at him, the fear having vanished, replaced with genuine curiosity, with a dash of alarm.

 

“What are you talking about, dumbass? Doing what? I’m not doing anything!” He protested angrily. He wasn’t sure what he was so angry about. It was a perfectly reasonable question, especially since Seungmin knew _exactly_ what the angel was talking about. Perhaps he was only so defensive because he didn’t want to admit that, despite the fact they’d never met, this angel had an aura that was immediately calming and warm, and that terrified Seungmin more than he could say. There weren’t angels who could do that so what was going on?

 

“You’re-“ The angel shuddered as he stared at Seungmin, and it didn’t look like an unpleasant shudder. Quite the opposite in fact. “You’re really not doing anything?”

Seungmin shook his head immediately. “No. I don’t care about messing with angels. I have so much to do. I don’t have time.”

“So you’re telling me you don’t feel that, then?” The angel leaned a tiny bit closer to his face, as if they weren’t strangers who had only just met.

  
“Feel what? I feel fine.” Seungmin attempted to lie but his voice cracked halfway through his reply and, _weirdly,_ the angel didn’t look convinced at all. He was staring so intensely at him, Seungmin felt like there were holes being burned through him, and it wasn’t disgustingly unpleasant. “Quit staring,”

 

Seungmin glared daggers he hoped were intimidating enough to hide the fact that his cheeks had, unwillingly, turned pink under the angel’s gaze.

  
  
The angel actually smiled, and it felt like the sun parting through the clouds on a stormy day, not that Seungmin would ever ever admit to thinking that. He just knew objectively when someone looked good. That’s all it was. “Sorry. I just- you’re not as scary as I thought you’d be.”

Seungmin’s face fell almost immediately, only glaring harder.

 

“Excuse me?” He exclaimed dramatically. “Who are you to say that? Who even are you? Why are you here? And why are you so weird?”

  
  
“Weird? If anyone’s weird, it’s you. Shouldn’t you have stabbed me by now?” The angel folded his arms, looking a little smug now.

  
“Only if you’re gonna try and stab me. I try to not kill anything if I can avoid it.” Seungmin told him, proudly sticking his knife back into his belt and backing away.

  
The angel seemed to smile again at that for a brief second. “That doesn’t sound very demonic to me.”

  
  
“I was told there was trouble here, and you show up. So what did you do?” Seungmin changed the subject, feeling very uncomfortable and flustered. He was really trying to get out of there as quickly as he could. Got a problem? Just run from it. That was Seungmin’s general philosophy.

 

“Huh? I just arrived here right now. I was told there was a problem here too. One of my _superiors_ specifically told _me_ to come.” The angel said that last part with pride shining in his eyes. “My name is Hyunjin.”

 

Seungmin opened his mouth to accuse Hyunjin of lying, but he faltered. His instincts were telling him it was the truth, or at the very least Hyunjin believed it was.

 

“I _knew_ something was weird. I had never seen her before,” Seungmin murmured under his breath.

 

“Who?” Hyunjin asked quizzically, taking a step closer.

 

“None of your business,” Seungmin retorted. “Listen, someone obviously has been messing with both of us. I didn’t see you, you didn’t see me, okay? This didn’t happen. Oh, and talk to those _superiors_ of yours because their information sources obviously aren’t reliable.”

 

Hyunjin looked really lost, chewing his bottom lip as he stared at Seungmin. “I’m really confused.”

 

“That’s great. Not my problem though, sorry.” Seungmin shrugged at him, backing away as he prepare to leave. He couldn’t care less. All he needed to do was leave and go back home and figure out who the fuck this Jimin girl was and what she thought she was doing by tricking him into coming here. Was this someone else who had come to harass him like those two guys from earlier? Had this just been a cruel trick to make him look stupid? That didn’t explain how Hyunjin got here but Seungmin shouldn’t be concerned about him. It wasn’t his business to meddle in the affairs of pretty angels.

 

“Hey, at least tell me your name!” Hyunjin whined, pouting at him slightly, almost tempted to follow him.

 

“Oh?” Seungmin raised an eyebrow. “Why would I tell you that? We don’t even know each other.”

 

“Because I asked nicely,” Hyunjin teased playfully and that dazzling smile was back and Seungmin didn’t like how much it made him blush.

 

“Seungmin, okay? My name is Seungmin. Now if you don’t mind, someone has wasted my time so I need to go now.”  
  
Hyunjin watched him walk away into the darkness before disappearing, not failing to notice that Seungmin look back over his shoulder at him one last time. He stared at the spot on the ground where the demon had vanished from his sight, a smile lingering on his lips for reasons he wouldn’t understand for a while.

 

“Seungmin,” he repeated to himself. The name sounded nice, and he liked saying it. A feeling of warmth flooded through his veins. He needed to know more about _Seungmin._ If that’s what the first demon he’d met was like, how could they really be that bad?

 

This was going to be interesting, Hyunjin could already tell.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Don’t Take Love Off the Table

 

Chan hadn’t been exaggerating. Jeongin really was extremely sweet. It had literally been maybe an hour and Hyunjin was already prepared to literally die for him. He had been anxious to meet him at first but Jisung had assured him that he’d be absolutely fine, but somehow Jeongin’s unadulterated adorableness only made him _more_ nervous. Seriously, when he smiled, Hyunjin could feel the full force of the little angel’s grace behind it. It was like staring directly into the sun.

 

The main problem really was that Hyunjin was a horrible mentor. He was seriously just awful. However, it wasn’t entirely his fault. He was essentially responsible for teaching someone so impressionable how to be invasive of humanity’s privacy and he didn’t like it, and how enthusiastic can you expect someone to be when they don’t agree with the very thing they’re supposed to be teaching?

 

The roles that angels play in this world had been laid out simply to Hyunjin: protect the humans from demonic activity and from themselves. Demons wreaked havoc on earth and corrupted humanity, sending disasters after them and turning them against each other and killing them in their masses. That’s what Hyunjin had been _told,_ anyway. He’d never actually seen any of this for himself. He just had to have faith that what he was being told was accurate. None of the angels were allowed to question what they were taught. If you questioned God’s rules, you rebelled against his will, and the last time an angel did that, it didn’t end well for them. Everybody knows the story of Satan’s origin, or at least they think they do. Hyunjin thinks he does too. It was one of the first stories he was ever told when he was growing up. Satan was evil and he wanted to overthrow God, their father and their creator who did nothing but love them unconditionally. Then Chan, the bravest and brightest archangel in all of Heaven and Hyunjin’s favourite older brother, fought the devil off heroically and kicked him out of heaven and saved them all. That’s probably why Chan always looks so tired, Hyunjin suspects. It must be a lot of effort being that powerful and having all that responsibility.

 

“Oi, are you listening to me?”

 

Hyunjin jolted out of his thoughts at the sound of Jeongin’s voice to find the younger glaring at him, his arms folded. They were standing in a field on earth because Hyunjin’s first intentions had been to attempt to help Jeongin learn how to materialise his wings effectively. An angel’s wings were their pride and joy. They were required to know them inside and out because they needed to be able to hide them or to travel anywhere in the universe at a moment’s notice. They were how the angels channeled their power. He’d taken Jeongin to the same place Chan had taken him all those years ago when _he_ was learning the ropes for the first time and the amount the place had changed filled Hyunjin with such a profound sadness. Earth looked different every time he visited. The growing population changed the natural landscape and drained the planet of its resources and it just made Hyunjin sad. It used to be so beautiful. It still was, but so much of it had been changed.

 

“Sorry.” Hyunjin ran a hand through his hair, flashing an awkward lopsided smile. Jeongin rolled his eyes, smiling back a little.

 

“Chan warned me about this, you know?” Jeongin teased him and Hyunjin turned pink, the heat of embarrassment washing over him. “He said you daydream too much so I need to keep you in line.”

 

“Why?’ Hyunjin whined, hiding his face in his hands, cursing his own existence and wishing he would just disappear. Jeongin, that cute little _brat_ , had the nerve to stand there and actually laugh at him. They were basically still strangers and here Jeongin was… mocking him.

 

“So…” A few moments of silence which could only be described as awkward passed until Jeongin broke it. “Do dogs go to Heaven?”

 

‘Wha-” Hyunjin’s head snapped up to stare at Jeongin at the complete randomness of the question. “What do you mean-”

 

“Dogs. Do they go to heaven? Is there like an animal heaven? What happens to all the animals when they die?” Jeongin looked as if he had never been more serious about anything in his entire life. As if his very life and death depended on the answer. Hyunjin couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

 

“Animals dont go to heaven, Jeongin.” He stated it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world but when he saw the shock appear on Jeongin’s face, he realised it must not be.

 

“Wait, really? I was joking but-“ Jeongin’s face fell, his big eyes shining with sadness, glossy with tears. He seemed like he cried easily. He must have a really gentle heart, Hyunjin realised, if that’s all it took to reduce him to tears.

 

“Do they not teach you that anymore?” When Hyunjin was younger, he had been told that certain creatures were unholy. Some humans commit sins and go to hell, animals are simply born into it. It was one of the many unjust rules of heaven. Despite having never been inside the vaults of heaven, he knew certain creatures were simply forbidden access. God loves all his creations equally? Really? Hyunjin wasn’t so sure about that. If that were truly the case, then the idea of all creatures except humans being considered as fundamentally inferior didn’t make much sense.

 

Jeongin shook his head in response, sticking out his bottom lip, trying not to cry, kicking a stone that had been laying near his foot sadly.

 

“That doesn’t seem fair. They don’t even get a chance. What did they ever do wrong?” Jeongin  pouting a little, a tear making its way down his cheek. Hyunjin gave him a wary look, raising his eyebrows, and the little angel seem to shift uncomfortably. “Sorry, I- I didn’t mean to question our father’s rules. I’m just…”

 

Jeongin trailed off, staring at his feet, the bright curiosity that had been oozing out of him only moments before completely absent. Hyunjin, in that moment, really saw the fear that had been deeply instilled in the younger angel. He wasn’t even fully grown yet, not even close, and he had already learned to fear what would happen to him if he dared disagree any of the laws of heaven. It was programmed into them from an early age so they would never disobey and repeat the devil’s mistakes.

 

“Relax. I don’t think it’s that fair either.” He put a hand on Jeongin’s small shoulder, wiping the tear from his cheekbone with his other hand. The little angel looked up at him with such a surprised look, genuinely taken aback at the sincerity of the action. He must’ve never had this sort of response from anyone before. “You just need to keep those thoughts quiet. You never know who might be listening.”

 

  
Jeongin let go of the breath he’d been holding in, flashing one of those amazing smiles again. “Okay. Thank you.”

 

Hyunjin felt hopeful now. Jeongin seemed easy to get on with, so maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. It might even be fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
  
  
Seungmin was going to get to the bottom of his little problem if it killed him. The very first thing he did when he got back to hell was try to find that Jimin girl to ask her what exactly she thought she was doing but his search came up completely empty. He went to almost all of his friends, all the ones he could find at least, and asked them all but none of them had ever so much as heard the name. Jackson had mentioned that he’d come across a human who he was friends with, Namjoon or something, who had a friend called Jimin but that Jimin was very much male and very much not a demon.

 

For a little background, the human souls that were condemned to hell yet hadn’t committed anything that warranted eternal punishment, like having unpaid parking tickets, pirating music, maybe occasional petty theft or even those who committed crimes and by extension sins out of desperation or due to reasons outside of their control, were confined to sector 3, however perhaps confined was an unfair word to use. They were given infinite space to roam and freedom to create whatever they could dream up as long as they were kind to one another. Seungmin and his friends were instructed to keep tabs on this part of hell and ensure everyone there was safe and happy, and they even managed to befriend some of the humans. That’s how Jackson knew Namjoon and by extension, all of the deceased people that Namjoon was friends with.

 

Seungmin let out an exasperated sigh as he set off in order to make his way down to the summoning room on the ground floor. They were only supposed to use it in absolute emergencies, but if this Jimin wasn’t gonna make herself known, he’d have to bring her straight to him. However he didn’t get very far before...

 

“Seungmin! Wait!” Loud footsteps echoed up the stone hallway, causing Seungmin to jump in surprise, turning around.

 

A short demon with bright orange hair with fading red at the ends dressed in a jet black suit with a crimson red shirt stopped in front of him, bending over and clutching his chest, trying to catch his breath as he’d obviously just been sprinting here in order to find him. Seungmin would’ve laughed had he not been so surprised.

 

“Felix, are you okay?” Seungmin asked the demon, a slight grin of amusement on his face. Felix let out a groan in response, glaring sulkily at the evident glee Seungmin was finding in his suffering.

 

“I ran up- thirty flights-“ He panted, gripping Seungmin’s shoulder in an attempt to remain upright. “Minho- he wants to see you. Like right now.”

 

“Shit, again?”

 

Felix shrugged. “You sort of didn’t go last time, dude.”

 

“I- okay, I’ll go now, but can you do me a favour?” Seungmin asked, and Felix nodded enthusiastically, always eager to aid his friends in anyway he could. “Can you go down to the summoning room and summon a demon called Jimin? I have a few questions for her.”

 

Felix whined, falling dramatically to the floor, lying face first on the cobblestone. Seungmin made a face of disgust.

 

“Do you know how filthy it is down there?”

 

“I just came from the summoning room, you ass!” Felix complained dramatically. “My legs are fucking _burning_. I think I need to get them cut off. I’ve accepted my new legless life. I don’t need legs. They disappoint me.’

 

Seungmin rolled his eyes, smiling fondly. Felix was probably the one he was closest with out of all of the demons. They were pretty different in terms of personalities, but Felix had always been kind and was one of the few people who could genuinely make Seungmin laugh.

 

“So call you do this for me?’ He asked again. Felix sighed heavily, pulling himself to his feet and straightening his suit out before responding.

 

“Of course, but you owe me new legs.”

  


 

 

  
Seungmin knocked on the large wooden door outside of the main hall, where the devil typically resided. He could hear the sound echoing around the dimly lit stone hallway, and from inside, a muffled, yet still powerful voice could be heard.

  
  
“Come in.”

  
Seungmin, anxiety filling his entire body, pushed the door open, the steel of the handle cold on his skin. The door groaned and whined as he opened it, before he shut it behind him as he slipped into the room.

  
  
The particular room was large and nearly empty. It was almost completely dark, aside from a few lamps dotted around on the walls. The light that was cast over the room made it look positively horrifying. The dark cobblestoned walls looked near black, lit dimly by the faint orange light and you couldn’t make out the finer details of the room very well. Seungmin wondered if Minho did it deliberately, to screw with whoever he summoned.

  
Here’s the thing. Satan typically only asked to see you if you’d fucked up in someway and if Seungmin didn’t know the archangel in question as well as he did, he suspected he’d be absolutely terrified.

  
  
“Seungmin.”

 

The voice coming from the shadows sent a chill down Seungmin’s spine. It never didn’t do that. It froze the air around him, and it was already so cold. Most humans suspected that hell was burning hot, and the further down you went, the more that was the case, but here where Seungmin was, the air was like ice stabbing into his skin.

  
He recognised the layout of the room well, and could see the faint outline of the throne the devil sat on, a large impressive ornate chair that was far too big for anyone to actually sit on comfortably. It was really only there to intimidate anyone who came in.

  
  
Now before you say anything, yes, it _is_ cliché. But Minho has a flare for the dramatics, so suck it up. He gets bored sometimes.

  
The click of fingers echoed around the room, filling it with light to reveal the man at the centre. His black eyes stared right into Seungmin’s soul, sending involuntary shivers through him. Minho let out a heavy sigh, stretching his arms out and yawning before hopping up and strolling over to Seungmin, his footsteps heavy against the dense, cold floor.

 

“So.” Minho stopped right in front of him, standing far too close for Seungmin’s comfort. The warm lamplight hit the porcelain skin of his cheekbones and reflected off his dark, angular eyes. He was positively ethereal and it only made him that much more intimidating. “You didn’t come to see me when I asked you to. Was it something I said?’

  
His tone was teasing and he wore a small childlike pout. Seungmin subconsciously took a tiny step back, exhaling shakily.

 

“I- there was a problem someone told me to fix and I-“ Seungmin couldn’t find the right words to explain why he hadn’t come, and Minho raised an eyebrow.

 

“Its funny you said that, Seungminnie, because I also have a problem,” Minho responded. “My problem is you.”

 

“Me?” Seungmin tried to swallow his nerves, to little success. Had he really screwed up that badly by not showing up? He couldn’t tell what else he might’ve done. He usually always did as he was asked. It’s what he knew he was good at.

 

Minho hummed in response, nodding. “You haven’t been acting like you used to.”  
  
There was a few seconds of the tensest silence Seungmin had ever  
experienced. The sort of silence that completely enveloped you.

 

Then Minho laughed. “Wow, would you relax? You look like you’re about to explode. I’m not _mad_ at you, Seungmin.”

 

To say Seungmin felt relieved was a huge understatement. He clutched his heart, trying to breathe. “Please stop doing that to me. I can’t deal with it. What’s wrong? I didn’t realise I was doing anything.”

 

“It’s okay. No one but me has noticed.” Minho reassured him, touching his shoulder gently. “There’s been something off about you recently. I can feel it. You’re unhappy.”

  
Seungmin shook his head, relaxing slightly under Minho’s touch. “I’m fine. I really am.”

  
“Don’t lie to me, Seungmin.” Minho warned, shooting him a look. “I know I’m right so tell me what’s the matter. It’s my job to look after you all, you know that. Gotta take care of my employees and all that, not that that’s what you are. Okay you get what I mean.”

  
Seungmin sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I- I don’t know what’s wrong. I just feel weird.”

 

Minho wore an expression that seemed like he could completely empathise with the feeling Seungmin was struggling to put into words.

 

“I love everyone down there, and I really love working with the humans but it’s just-  I guess it’s just a lot to deal with,” he finally confessed. It really was. Being able to help humans find peace after being sent to hell for sins that didn’t necessarily deserve punishment was incredibly rewarding but it was also a heavy burden to carry.

 

“Where do you wanna be?” Minho moved to lean casually against the wall, eyes still focussed on Seungmin.  
  
“I just need time to think about things,” Seungmin admitted.

  
Minho hummed, hands clasped tightly together as he leaned forwards on his feet slightly. “Take a break then. I can’t expect you all to want to be down there for all eternity.”  
  
“I can’t do _that_. Are you sure?” Seungmin asked, to which Minho immediately nodded.

 

“It’s okay. I’ll just get someone to cover for you. It’s not a big deal,” he replied with a shrug.

 

“Are you sure that’s alright?” Seungmin asked. “It won’t affect anything, will it?”  
  
“It’s not like you’re leaving forever,” Minho fixed him with a genuine, soft smile. “Go to Earth and have a look around. It might help you. I used to love going there before… before everything that happened. I’ll have someone find you when there’s help needed with deals, or whatever. Got it?”

  
“Of course. Thank you, Minho,” Seungmin paused for a few moments, his eyes dancing over the devil’s face. “How have _you_ been?”

 

It wasn’t a question many creatures would dare to ask, but Minho quite clearly wasn’t what people thought he was. The way his gaze faltered every so slightly when the question left Seungmin’s lips really said a lot.

 

“I’m fine.” His reply was short and simple, yet Seungmin could tell by looking at him that there was more going on than he realised. Minho’s expression appeared to change and his gaze fell to the floor for a split second. You can imagine it gets kind of lonely all the way down there, where most of your days are spent alone in the dark because almost every living creature was terrified of the very mention of your name.

 

Seungmin didn’t press the question any further. He knew better than that. He tried his best to be a genuine friend to Minho, but the power dynamic always separated them. He and Felix in particular spoke to Minho often, checking in on him every now and then, but at the end of the day, he was still the Devil and if he didn’t want to talk, he wasn’t going to.

 

“Come on, go.” Minho ushered Seungmin to the door, opening it for him. “And don’t you dare come back until you feel better. Do you understand me?”

 

Seungmin smiled fondly, nodding. “Thank you again.”

 

Minho winked at him, before closing the closing the heavy door.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
Hyunjin wasn’t a stalker. He wasn’t. He was just... interested. Seungmin was interesting. He was his first experience with a demon and he hadn’t left his mind for weeks. There had just been something about him that Hyunjin couldn’t put his finger on. It felt strange. He knew he just had to find him again.

  
  
Fortunately, it wasn’t as hard as he’d expected. As an angel he generally had a good sense for demons. He could feel where they were if they were close by because it was encoded into his brain that he should avoid them at all costs, so he just had to channel this instinct.

 

  
This led to a few close shaves with other demons who hadn’t been quite as kind, however after a few weeks, he finally managed to track him down.

 

Once again, _absolutely not a stalker._

 

The demon in question didn’t appear quite so happy to see Hyunjin however. The total opposite in fact.

  
  
“Ew, what the fuck do _you_ want?”

 

Admittedly it hadn’t been the exact reaction he’d been looking for, although he wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting to happen after he snuck up on someone who was essentially a stranger while they were minding their own business.

 

“I-“ Hyunjin found he was speechless when the demon confronted him. “I was just-“

  
  
“Following me,” Seungmin folded his arms, glaring. “You’ve been doing that for a while now. Why?”

  
“I just- you aren’t what I expected. I want to know more about you,” Hyunjin immediately admitted, his cheeks turning pink.

  
“Isn’t that, oh I don’t know, the exact opposite of what’s you’re supposed to do?” Seungmin asked. “Aren’t you gonna get in trouble for that?”

  
“Only if I get caught,” Hyunjin flashed Seungmin a lopsided smile. The demon felt his face heat up, but tried his best to ignore it.

 

“Pretty rebellious of you, angel. I’m sure your owners won’t be very happy.”  
  
“I’ll just have to make sure they never find out,” Hyunjin fired back, taking the smallest step closer.

  
Seungmin looked at him for a few seconds, trying not to pay attention to how playful and borderline flirtatious the angel’s tone was.. “I didn’t actually agree to anything, you know.”

  
  
“Come on. Just answer a few of my questions. They don’t tell us that much,” Hyunjin whined, pouting like a child.

 

  
“You are so fucking weird.” Seungmin stared at Hyunjin, half with confusion, half with fascination. This angel really had the balls to follow him around like a creep and then ask for something. “Fine.”

  
  
He walked off, leaving Hyunjin standing there gaping at him.  

  
  
“Aren’t you coming?” He called back, and listened to the pattering of Hyunjin’s feet as he ran to catch up.

  
  
“Really?” The angel asked.

  
  
“Sure, why not? I’m bored. But let’s make one thing clear,” Seungmin stopped, grabbing the dagger out of his belt and holding it up to Hyunjin’s face. The angel let out the tiniest gasp of surprise. “Any funny business from you, because I know what your kind are like, and I won’t hesitate, okay?”

  
  
“Thought you didn’t like killing?” Hyunjin said in a tiny voice, his wide eyes still trained on the tip of the knife.

  
  
“I don’t,” Seungmin replied, shortly, replacing the dagger in its holder. “But I’d also rather not be killed by one of you significantly more so I’ll do what I have to.”

  
  
“killed... what?” Hyunjin looked sincerely confused. “Why would I kill you?”

  
  
Seungmin rolled his eyes. “Quit acting so innocent. Follow me.”

  
  
He began walking again and Hyunjin hurried to catch up again. “Where are we going?”

  
  
“If I’m gonna sit through your questions, we’re gonna go somewhere I actually like.”

  
  
Seungmin grabbed Hyunjin’s wrist and Hyunjin felt like what could only be described as all the atoms in his body being separated and then put back together, as a gust of wind blew around them. When he looked around, they were in a completely different location and upon realising he’d had his first experience with demonic teleportation which is not something he, as an angel, was ever supposed to endure, he felt like he might be sick.

  
  
“Huh,” Seungmin said, looking down at Hyunjin, who was hunched over, breathing heavily and trying not to vomit.

  
  
“What?” Hyunjin forced out, his breathing elevated, staring up at him quizzically.

  
  
“I didn’t know whether you’d survive that or not,” he admitted, grinning slightly at how Hyunjin frowned at him.

  
“Don’t be mean.” Hyunjin  
scowled.

 

“I’ll be as mean as I want. We aren’t friends.” Seungmin said it a little more callously than necessary but he didn’t want Hyunjin getting the wrong idea.

 

“Where are we?” Hyunjin asked when he straightened up.

  
  
“I don’t know what it’s called,” Seungmin admitted. “I just like coming here.”

  
The location they’d landed in was a small town by the ocean. The shoreline was lined by pebbled beaches and colourful houses and the icy air was almost completely silent if not for the periodic calls of seagulls. The sky was a bright white and the sun was hidden from view and it was absolutely freezing. A tiny harbour could be seen from a short distance, lined with all sizes of boats which were tied to the shore so they didn’t drift off.

 

Seungmin breathed in deeply, closing his eyes, taking in the quiet.

 

“Do you come here a lot?” Hyunin asked as he looked around. There were a few people wandering around, but other than that, the street was empty and so was the beach.

 

“This was one of the first places I ever visited on earth back when I was first starting out. I guess it sort of stuck with me.” Seungmin walked over to a nearby bench that was facing the sea. It was a dark colour and you couldn’t see to the bottom of the water. It all seemed a little grey to Hyunjin. Very lonely. To Seungmin though, it was comfortable and familiar. “So, what do you want to know.”

 

“Oh right.” Hyunjin hurriedly sat down next to Seungmin, wrapping his arms around himself to try and stop the cold from clawing at his skin. Now that Seungmin was right there, right in front of him, and glaring at him like he wanted nothing more than to be left alone, Hyunjin’s mind had gone completely blank. “I guess I wanted to know if what I’ve been told is true.”

 

Seungmin could actually feel the anxiety coming off of Hyunjin in heavy waves. The angel kept fidgeting where he sat and seemed to be struggling to make eye contact. Seungmin would deny it if you asked, but seeing Hyunjin like that softened him a little bit. All the angels he’d met before had tried to kill him. None of them had ever so much as given him a second look, so seeing an angel so worried and scared was comforting to the point it was endearing. That and Hyunjin kept shivering. Seungmin hadn’t even noticed the cold. He was so used to being cold that he didn’t even feel it anymore. With a deep sigh, he shrugged the suit jacket off of his shoulders and draped it around Hyunjin’s shoulders. The angel looked up at him, surprise etched across his delicate features, but he smiled gratefully all the same. Seungmin hoped he wouldn’t read any further into the action.

 

“So, what exactly have you been told?” It was a good question for Seungmin to ask anyway, because truthfully, he had no idea what the angels thought of him and his kind. He only really knew that they hated him and everyone like him.

 

“I guess I had just always been told that you were monsters. Some angels even said you have horns and tails.” Hyunjin very noticeably looked Seungmin up and down as he said this and Seungmin felt embarrassment wash over him. “You don’t look like a monster to me.”

 

“I’m not the right kind of demon for that,” he replied, taking the opportunity to return the favour and drink in Hyunjin’s appearance. It was genuinely frustrating how good looking he was. Even if he weren’t an angel, he’d probably still glow. Seungmin rolled his eyes and shook those thoughts out of his head.

 

“What do you mean?” Hyunjin asked, tilting his head curiously.

 

“There’s two kinds; those who are born as demons and those who become them. Only demons who are born as demons will have horns and stuff like that.” Seungmin explained.

 

“so you- you used to be human?” The thought hadn’t even occurred to Hyunjin as a possibility, his eyes widening.

 

“Mhm.” Seungmin nodded, turning away from him again.

 

“But then you went to hell?” At this point, the questions were just tumbling out of Hyunjin’s mouth uncontrollably.

 

“Yep.”

 

“Why? What did you do?”

 

The question had been expected but Seungmin still didn’t know how to answer it. It was something he’d pushed deep, _deep_ down and tried to never ever think about.

 

“I-“

 

Hyunjin noticed the change in Seungmin’s demeanour immediately. His shoulders slumped and his gaze fell to the floor.

 

“I’m sorry- I didn’t mean-“ Hyunjin cursed himself for screwing up so quickly. Now Seungmin would never want to talk to him again. “You don’t have to tell me.”

 

Seungmin nodded, silently thanking him.

 

“It’s just-“ Hyunjin looked at his feet. “I’m not allowed into heaven.”

 

“What?” Seungmin looked at him in disbelief. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean I live in heaven, but the bit where all the humans go? Only the seraphs and the archangels are allowed in there. It’s strictly off limits to everyone else.” Hyunjin told him, using big hand gestures to try and get his point across as it was difficult to explain to someone who had no concept of what he was talking about. “I mean some of us work with processing the souls and filing their names and causes of death, but I don’t even know what is a sin and what isn’t at this point. I used to know but maybe this is wrong of me to say, but you don’t look like you could’ve done anything that bad.”

 

It was a strangely formatted compliment, but being called not evil was still oddly flattering to Seungmin. He was still more shocked than anything. “You really have no idea about anything then.”

 

Hyunjin shook his head, slightly embarrassed about how much he’d just said. It’s funny. Earlier, while he’d been talking to Jeongin, he’d been so certain. If the younger angel had asked him a question about something to do with heaven, he probably could’ve answered, but now he wasn’t so sure. How much did he not know?

 

“I can’t ask anyone about it. We aren’t allowed to.”

 

“Seriously?” Seungmin was met with a sad look. It was a look that suggested that Hyunjin was hurt about being kept in the dark for his entire life, and that he wasn’t trusted enough. He could only imagine the frustration he felt. Something inside Seungmin ached when he saw the angel’s eyes shining with disappointment, and in that moment it all became clear to him. Hyunjin really was as clueless as he was claiming to be. He hadn’t been lying when they’d first met. Perhaps Seungmin shouldn’t trust him so easily, and he still didn’t exactly, however Hyunjin was something new to him. He’d never met anything quite like him before. Seungmin wondered if there were other angels out there like him: naive and easily mislead. “So what do you think I do? What have you been told that things like me do?”

 

He asked the question now out of a genuine desire to help Hyunjin discover what was being hidden from him. It’s what he’d hope someone would do for him if he were in the same position. He was met with a sincerely grateful look.

 

“Uh, well…” Hyunjin bit his lip, wracking his brain for a question. “You work for the devil and- is it true you really trick and kill humans?”

 

“You might have to be a little more specific than that,” Seungmin warned. Look, he’s killed a few humans in his time, but all of them had it coming. Doesn’t mean he’s evil or anything.

 

“So, whenever there’s an earthquake or a volcano erupts or something, we were told it was down to you guys.” Hyunjin gestured to Seungmin as he spoke. “Or if there’s a really bad disease. Do you remember those Egyptian plagues that happened? Were you around for that?”

 

Seungmin shook his head. “I wasn’t around then, but we didn’t do that.”

 

“Seriously?” Hyunjin really looked at him, to see if he was lying.

 

“I’m telling the truth,” Seungmin almost laughed. “We don’t do things like that. What would the point be?”

 

“If you don't do that, what do you do?” Hyunjin asked.

 

“I don’t know if you’ll like the answer to this, but I’ll tell you.” Seungmin gave Hyunjin a few seconds to change his mind, but the angel was adamant about knowing everything he could so Seungmin continued. “So the basics are making deals. People are stupid enough to try and summon us and ask for ridiculous things in exchange for their souls. We give them a contract, they sign it and they have time limit. Ten years is the normal amount, sometimes it’s less, sometimes it’s more.”

 

“Then when the time runs out y- you _kill them_?” Hyunjin mouthed the last two words, looking at Seungmin in utter shock.

 

“What’s the big deal?” Seungmin shrugged as if it was nothing. “They’re shady people who sign a contract.”

 

“Why would you _kill_ them though?” Hyunjin looked absolutely horrified.

 

“Listen,” Seungmin protested, defensively. “it’s not like we go around murdering people. Hell really isn’t that awful, you know? It’s really not what you think it is.”

 

Hyunjin didn’t look convinced and Seungmin could tell, but it’s not like he could do anything to change his mind.

 

“But if you don’t send the natural disasters then who-“

 

He stopped abruptly when he saw Seungmin fixing him with a knowing look. “I think you know.”

 

A wave of realisation suddenly hit Hyunjin and it felt awful. “No, that’s not true. We wouldn’t- there’s no way that _we_ could-“

 

“Well, believe it or don’t. We aren’t the ones doing it.” Seungmin was so casual about it but Hyunjin was the total opposite.

 

“Oh.’

 

Hyunjin fell into silence, his heart full of conflict. Was he really considering believing this? Demons were tricksters. That’s what he’d been taught. Except it really didn’t feeling like Seungmin was tricking him. Why would angels hurt people though? That’s what Seungmin had been implying, and maybe Hyunjin didn’t like everything his kind did, but _killing people?_

 

“So what _is_ hell like?” he decided to ask, trying to change the subject and curiosity getting the better of him. “I’ve heard so many stories. We were told them for centuries when we were young. Do you really torture people?”

 

“ _I_ don’t.” Seungmin’s voice was direct, determined to make that point explicitly clear. “There’s a bit of that, yeah, but that’s not my area”

 

Seungmin noticed how wide Hyunjin’s eyes had gotten, dripping with curiosity. He went onto explain the basics which we won’t go over again. Basically that the only people who were tortured were people who truly deserved it and that most other people were actually pretty happy. Hyunjin hung onto Seungmin’s every word, as if it was the most interesting thing he’d ever heard.

 

“Wow.” When Seungmin had finished explain, Hyunjin slouched against the back of the bench, taking all the new information in. He could feel that Seungmin was being truthful. He could always tell when he was being lied to, and Seungmin’s energy was extremely sincere. It was a lot to wrap his head around. So many things he’d been told were the truth were actually not.

 

“You okay?” Seungmin peered over at him, sounding more concerned than he’d intended. Hyunjin snapped out of whatever he’d been thinking about and and nodded, pulling Seungmin’s jacket around his shoulders tighter.

 

“Yeah, it’s just… this is a lot to take in,” he confessed.

 

There was a few slightly awkward pauses of silence before Hyunjin spoke again.

 

“So, if you’re meant to be in hell, what are you doing here?”

 

Seungmin grimaced at the question. “Sometimes we need a break. There’s a lot going on down there. If you saw it, you’d understand.”

 

He wasn’t exactly gonna go into detail. Hyunjin didn’t need to know everything. Minho really had been right. Stepping back for a while would definitely help his mental state. Weirdly enough, talking to Hyunjin had had a similar effect too.

 

“I might understand.” Seungmin looked over at Hyunjin when he said that. The angel was staring intensely out into the middle of the sea, suddenly very serious. “Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I wonder if it’s all even worth it. I swear, sometimes I think I’m one of the only ones who sees things differently but…”

 

Hyunjin trailed off, his expression darker than before. Seungmin watched him intently. The angel’s mood had changed into something that felt incredibly familiar, and suddenly, Seungmin felt a strong urge to reach out. He’d never met anyone who felt like he did before, and for whatever reason, he could literally feel Hyunjin’s emotions. It wasn’t something he could quite put into words, and perhaps this was his loneliness talking, but he didn’t want Hyunjin to leave anymore. He thought he probably sounded pretty pathetic even just thinking it. What happened to his stubbornness? It had just melted away that easily.

  
“So.” It had only been a few brief moments of seriousness, but it told Seungmin a lot. Hyunjin wasn’t a dopey, immature angel. There was something dark about him that Seungmin couldn’t quite wrap his head around, but it felt like something he’d personally experienced too. But then seconds later, Hyunjin’s bright eyed curiosity had returned as if nothing had changed. “You come to earth when you aren’t in hell?”

 

“Yeah.” As Seungmin answered, he pretended he didn’t see Hyunjin move slightly closer to him on the bench. “I don't really care about anything here though. Just a few places.”

  
“You don’t like Earth?!” Hyunjin exclaimed as if nothing had ever offended him more. “Why not?”

 

Seungmin allowed himself to smile slightly in amusement at Hyunjin’s outraged expression.

 

“It’s just not for me. Some of its nice, but I just don’t really fit in here anymore. I like the quiet places though,” he told him. Hyunjin opened his mouth to respond but the sound of a dog barking from somewhere in the distance behind him startled him. Seungmin accidentally smiled again, but he caught himself this time and stopped before Hyunjin could see.

 

“I should go. They’re gonna notice I’m gone.” Hyunjin exhaled heavily, looking sad again as he stood up. He shrugged Seungmin’s jacket off his shoulders, gasping as the cold air immediately attacked him again. “Thank you for that.”

 

“Don’t mention it, Hyunjin.” It was the first time the angel’s name had left his lips, and Hyunjin noticeably perked up at the sound.

 

“D’you think-“ Hyunjin looked extremely conflicted, shoving his hands into his pockets shyly. “I can maybe see you again? You don’t have to say yes.”

  
  
Seungmin stopped and looked at him for a few seconds. Something with in him was beginning to thaw. Hyunjin was melting away the barriers he’d put up and Seungmin couldn’t do a damn thing to stop him. He hated how easily he was doing it too. The idea of seeing Hyunjin again was far too tempting.

 

“That would be nice.”

  
Hyunjin’s face lit up with a dazzling smile and- did Seungmin’s heart just... flutter? Absolutely not. _Never._

  
“I want to show you somewhere next time then,” Hyunjin looked so excited at the prospect, instinctively grabbing Seungmin’s hand, and Seungmin didn’t wrench away from his grasp. He let him do it. “Oh, I can think of so many places.”

  
‘ _Maybe we can see them all._ ’ The thought came to Seungmin’s head before he could do anything. He didn’t say it out loud, but Hyunjin gave him such a fantastic smile that Seungmin felt like maybe he’d heard what he was thinking.

 

Hyunjin was still holding his hand.

 

“I can’t wait,” Seungmin replied, a genuine smile on his lips.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y i k e s,,,,,,,, I didn’t mean for this so take so long. 
> 
> I totally lost inspiration for like two weeks while Chan was getting hate bc I just felt so demotivated??? Idk seeing him sad makes me sad. Plus I lowkey broke one of my fingers so I had to type with one hand so that was fun.
> 
> Anyways, I’m definitely not normally gonna wait a whole month between chapters. That’s so annoying. Updates will be more frequent than that, but also they’re long chapters so they take a while. Sorry about that :)
> 
> Btw, if you want scary Satan, you won’t get it here. Minho is a soft sister satan. <3


	3. Anywhere with you feels right

 

“What is going on?”

 

Seungmin would like for there to be one day where _something_ didn’t go wrong. There seemed to be a small crowd forming in the room of hell that contained the bottomless pit. It’s better if you don’t ask what that pit is used for or where it came from. No one knows and no one questions the pit. It just showed up in hell at one point and so they started pushing each other in for fun or laughing whenever someone fell inside by accident.

 

Seungmin peered curiously over the edge of the giant hole, making sure to maintain his balance. He recognised Jae and Wonpil dangling a long rope over the edge while Jinyoung and Brian stood off to the side, looking annoyed at the whole situation.

 

“Don’t ask.” Jinyoung, a demon much older than Seungmin was himself, looked like he currently wanted to be swallowed by the seven circles of hell. “Felix fell in again, so these idiots tried to get him out and then Jackson fell in too.”

 

“Again?! Really Felix?!” Seungmin yelled into the hole.

 

“Hey, is that Seungmin?!” Jackson’s voice echoed out of the hole.

 

“Hi Seungmin!” Felix’s deep voice called up. “How are you?!”

 

“I’m alright!” Seungmin called down into the darkness. “How about you? Enjoying the void?”

 

“I’m okay! It’s not as bad as you think down here!” He called back. “Oh you know that thing you asked me to do?! Are you sure you gave me the right name?!”

 

“Huh?!”

 

“You asked me to find a demon called Jimin! Yeah, there _isn’t_ anyone called that!”

 

The voice echoed up from the darkness and then echoed around Seungmin’s mind. If there wasn’t anyone called Jimin then who- or rather _what_ \- sent him to meet Hyunjin? A chill ran through Seungmin’s body. Felix wasn’t stupid when it came to things like that. If he said there was no demon called Jimin, then there just wasn’t. Whoever that was snuck into the halls of hell and tracked him down. They knew who he was. They specifically knew how to lie to him to get him to go where they wanted. What if Hyunjin hadn’t been the only thing waiting for him in the dark that night?

 

“Uh, well… thank you for trying…” he replied loudly into the hole.

 

“No worries!” Felix’s voice was remarkably chipper for someone currently trapped in the unending void.

 

“Maybe if we all join hands and lower ourselves into the hole-“ Jae suggested. Wonpil nodded like it was a good idea, which it obviously wasn’t.

 

“That is a fucking awful plan,” Brian said, to which Jae scowled and shoved him playfully. Brian grinned and shoved him back, causing Jae to almost lose balance.

 

“Do _not_ do that!” Jae yelled, grabbing onto Brian’s shoulders to steady himself.

 

“Okay I’m sorry,” he said, while laughing. Then while they were both distracted, Wonpil pushed them both at the same time, sending them careening over the edge, each with a yelp as Seungmin tried to suppress his laughter.

 

“Asshole!” Jae yelled as he fell into the hole. “You die when I get out.”

 

“Why me? I understand Jae. He’s the worst. But I thought we were friends!” Brian’s voice whined.

 

“Hey has anyone seen Jae and-?”

 

Sungjin, who was friends with Jae, Brian, and Wonpil, walked into the room, took one look at the hole, looked at the small group of people standing around it and made eye contact with Seungmin.

 

“Is Jae in the hole?” He asked, immediately looking fed up. Seungmin nodded. Wonpil seemed to be looking anywhere other than Sungjin’s face. “Yeah, I’m not dealing with that shit again. Call me when you get him out.”

 

“Guys it’s actually nice down here!” Jae yelled. “They’ve cleaned up a bit since last time.

 

“The emptiness is actually quite relaxing to be honest,” Brian agreed. “Smells a bit like lavender. Oh hi Felix.”

 

“Idiots,” Seungmin heard Sungjin mutter under his breath as he left.

 

Probably about time for him to leave too. They’d be fine. They’d fished Felix out before and it wasn’t like they were going anywhere. Besides, he had someone to meet.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Do you watch random kids from a distance often?”

  
  
If Seungmin was capable of having a heart attack, he would’ve had one then and there. He whipped around, clutching his chest, to see Hyunjin, who was grinning smugly at him and who he had consequently been waiting for in some park in the middle of America. There were a few families dotted here and there but it wasn't especially crowded.

  
“You’re late,” was the first thing Seungmin said.

  
Hyunjin’s smile only grew wider. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly.

  
“Why did you even want to do this?” Seungmin scoffed, turning back around to look at the distant humans in the park again. “Not many interesting things going on here.”

  
“Not true. I think you’re extremely interesting.”

  
Seungmin looked back at him, quirking an eyebrow like Hyunjin just said something crazy.

  
“How did you know I would be here?” He just realised he never actually agreed on a meeting place. He had just sort of waited around for him to just show up.”

 

“I’m not sure,” Hyunjin admitted. “I just kind of knew.”

 

He couldn’t really explain it, but he sort of had this instinct about where he might find Seungmin. He didn’t know where it came from, but it was there.

 

Seungmin was ready to make a bunch of sarky comments, just to make fun of Hyunjin a little more, but he looked at him and just couldn't do it. Something about Hyunjin just made him feel so… calm. That was probably the best word to describe it.

 

“I’m really glad you’re here.” Hyunjin said, smile still on his face. Seungmin felt his face heat up a little becoming suddenly shy, not used to someone talking to him like that.

 

“So… where are you taking me?” Seungmin rocked back and forth on his feet, smiling bashfully.

 

“So I heard about these things humans do to get to know each other better,” Hyunjin explained excitedly. “They call them “dates” and it’s when two humans go somewhere nice and talk to each other, so I thought we could try that?”

 

“That sounds really nice actually.” Seungmin admitted. He’d been human such a long time ago he didn’t remember many of the customs, not to mention the species had progressed so much since he’d died. If he was being honest with himself, he’d like to know more about Hyunjin.

 

The angel broke out into one of his shining smile, holding out his hand for Seungmin to take.

 

“Can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.” Hyunjin’s tone was teasing and just slightly flirtatious, which really intimidated Seungmin, but he took the hand all the same.

 

*****

 

“Keep your eyes closed.”

 

Seungmin did as Hyunjin instructed, fully aware he was putting a bit too much trust in the angel. He felt two soft hands take his own and pull him along. The ground beneath his feet felt like concrete or stone and the air around him was cold, but not as cold as he was used to. In short, he had no idea where he was.

 

“I don’t know about this,” he admitted nervously. The hands that were holding onto his squeezed them slightly in what felt like reassurance.

 

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin promised. “No one can see us. You can look now.”

 

He released his hands and, upon opening them, Seungmin’s eyes were greeted by tall stone buildings with intensely intricate architectural details and long streets paved by slabs of concrete. There weren’t many people around and the sky was darkening, the street lamps just beginning to light up the roads with their atmospheric orange glow. Trees lined the quiet roads neatly and a beige stone wall separated the two of them from a long, wide river.

 

“Where-“ he began before Hyunjin pointed behind him. He turned around was greeted by a large metal structure creeping over the rooftops in the distance. “Paris?”

 

Hyunjin nodded excitedly. “I’ve been so many times and it never gets old.

 

“Huh.” Seungmin looked at his surroundings. He didn’t waste much of his time on places like these but, getting a closer look, it was quite beautiful.

 

Hyunjin grabbed his hand again, pulling him along behind him.

 

“It’s nice if you don’t like loud places. All the tourists go to the same spots, but along the river is quiet depending on where you are,” Hyunjin explained, letting go of Seungmin’s hand so they could walk side by side. “So how is hell?”

 

He asked so casually, like that was a perfectly normal question.

 

“Uh…” Seungmin’s mind flashed with memories of earlier, with Jae and Brian joining Felix and Jackson in the bottomless pit, and then he recalled the time all the dog souls escaped from the plane of existence where they kept them and got into the hallways of hell’s main building and they spent days collecting them all and herding them back into where they were supposed to be, or the time Felix managed to get lost in the sixth circle and nearly froze to death. Hell was a mess. Actually Felix was kind of the biggest mess, it was endearing though. “Hell is fine. Hell is… hell.”

 

They walked beside one another along the pavement, Seungmin shoving his hands in his pockets.

 

“What about you? Anything interesting happening in heaven?” He asked, glancing over at Hyunjin.

 

The weirdness between them had worn away. The fact that Seungmin was a demon and Hyunjin was an angel seemed to stop mattering pretty quickly. They almost forgot they absolutely weren’t allowed to associate with one another so casually.

 

“It’s fine,” Hyunjin replied shortly, some of his enthusiasm dying down. He stared down at the concrete in front of his feet, shoes making soft tapping noises whenever he took a step. Seungmin took a second to really take in his appearance. The weather here was nice, not too sunny but sunny enough that Hyunjin looked as if he were actually glowing. Seungmin tried not to stare but the light breeze blew Hyunjin’s soft waves of black hair off his forehead as they walked and he couldn’t help it. “What we do is important, it’s worth it.”

 

“What exactly do you do?” Seungmin realised he’d never asked.

 

“Uh, well I’m still quite young so I mostly just help out with the younger angels right now, but I’m sure when I get older I’ll be allowed to do more.” Hyunjin’s eyes shone with a sudden optimism. This really meant a lot to him: the idea of things getting better for him. “Like answering prayers and helping the humans with their problems and protecting them.

 

Seungmin kept his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to ruin this for Hyunjin. He couldn’t bring himself to do it. Here’s the thing though, he knew what the angels really did and he was starting to put the pieces together more and more based off what Hyunjin was saying (and sometimes not saying). It seemed like there was a good reason he’d never met an angel like Hyunjin before. He was young and naive. Seungmin had heard stories about the archangels and their inner circle of seraphs. He’d never lost someone close to him, but the numbers of demons had been depleted over the years and his friend’s had had some close encounters where they almost didn’t make it. He’d had a few personal experiences with a few other angels and none of them were fun memories.

 

From the perspective of humanity and the angels, the eradication of demons is viewed as a good thing. No one knows what’s really happening, Hyunjin included. Just because you are told something or someone is bad, doesn’t mean they are. Seungmin can’t fathom why no one has ever stopped to question the things they are told with no proof. He has never laid a hand on an innocent person with the intention of hurting them, nor has anyone he knows and the mere suggestion of otherwise is why he has a somewhat adverse reaction to humanity.

 

Still, Hyunjin looked so hopeful and Seungmin genuinely believed that he had the purest of intentions. It’s why he had warmed to him so quickly. He hated being generalised and judged based on stereotypes, so why on earth would he do that to anyone else. For now, he’d just bide his time and get to know Hyunjin better because he secretly really _really_ liked him, although it was becoming less secret every time he saw him and this was only their third meeting. However, this way he could also learn more about the angels although Seungmin suspected there was a shit load Hyunjin didn’t know about and there was probably less than pleasant reasons why.

 

“I know you don’t like us,” Hyunjin said suddenly, and Seungmin realised he’d been staring off into the distance blankly. Well shit. Now he just felt bad. “I understand why.”

 

“I... “ He didn’t want to lie to Hyunjin. He was an awful liar. It wouldn’t even work. Hyunjin could tell by the look on his face that he was struggling to respond and smiled knowingly, squeezing his shoulder.

 

“Its okay. I thought about it and you have good reason to not like us.” He reassured him. Seungmin felt even worse.

 

“I mean, I like _you_ ,” he muttered quietly and Hyunjin’s cheeks turned pink, biting back a smile.

 

“I like you too,” he responded and then it was Seungmin’s turn to blush.

 

Every so often they’d fall into silence, allowing the occasional people to walk past, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable silence by any means, which was strange considering they still didn’t know each other that well. Hyunjin looked at Seungmin and couldn’t believe how much it felt like he already knew him. It was a strange sensation, but from the moment they’d met, he had been unable to stop thinking about him. He couldn’t explain how happy he’d felt when Seungmin had agreed to meet him again.

 

Seungmin tried to pretend he didn’t feel Hyunjin staring.

 

They reached the end of the walkway which joined to a large stone bridge that climbed over the river when the first spot of rain splashed on Seungmin’s cheek. He looked up at the sky, which was bright white, grey clouds mixing in as the rain started to come down heavier. He didn’t mind though. Drying out his clothes would be annoying but not the end of the world.

 

He paused as they reached the middle of the bridge, peering over the side at the fast flowing water below. Hyunjin sat on the stone barrier beside where he stood, watching him.

 

“What?” Seungmin looked at him with an embarrassed smile.

 

“Nothing,” Hyunjin replied, patting the spot on the wall next to him.

 

The rain was getting heavier now. Seungmin could feel the drops hitting his hair as he sat beside Hyunjin. The sound of fluttering filled his ears and the rain stopped hitting him even though it was getting heavier by the second. Looking up, he saw that Hyunjin had made his wings visible and curved one of them above Seungmin’s head, sheltering him from the downpour. He looked up in awe, running his finger tips along the silky, snowy white feathers. They felt more like they were made of raw, buzzing energy instead of any kind of physical matter. He’d never actually seen an angel’s wings before. They were a lot bigger than he’d thought, perhaps about ten metres in length all the way across and they were really beautiful.

 

He looked over at Hyunjin. The rain was quite heavy by now, drenching him and plastering his hair to his forehead while Seungmin stayed almost completely dry.

 

“What about you?” Seungmin asked, unable to not feel bad about how soaked Hyunjin was becoming.

 

“I don’t mind,” he said softly, pushing his wet hair off his forehead. “It’s even better here when it rains.”

 

Seungmin couldn’t think of anything to say. He just looked at Hyunjin, unable to really comprehend where he was or how exactly someone could look so damn good in the pouring rain. The day was nearly ending and the light in the sky was dimming. Seungmin moved a little closer to Hyunjin, and then they made eye contact. Seungmin forced himself to keep looking. Hyunjin looked at him with such fondness and the demon wasn’t sure what he’d done to warrant a look like that.

 

“It’s really pretty,” he admitted finally. He wasn’t saying it to make Hyunjin happy or spare his feelings or anything. Plenty of places can seem dull and uninteresting until you see them with the right person. That person can change your perspective and make you see how special these places really are. That’s what was happening to Seungmin.

 

“I’m glad you like it.” As Hyunjin said it, he couldn’t help but notice the way the corners of Seungmin’s lips were slightly upturned. He looked more relaxed than before. “I’m glad you agreed to come too.”

 

Seungmin genuinely smiled then. “So am I.”

 

That was the first of many dates. It sort of became their thing. Hyunjin would sneak out to meet up with Seungmin and they’d hide away on some corner of the earth for a little while and just talk. It was an escape from reality that they both eventually became sort of dependent on.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m really sorry for the huge break between chapters. My writing process sort of goes like this:
> 
> 1\. Plan out every detail of the chapter  
> 2\. Try to write it  
> 3\. Hate it  
> 4\. Procrastinate because it’s not good enough  
> 5\. Eventually suck it up and write 
> 
> Anyways, it won’t happen again. I just wasn’t happy with the format and it was freaking me out.
> 
> The chapter is named after “Paris in the Rain” by Lauv which may be a bit on the nose but I’m not known for subtly. That song is really special because both Seungmin and Hyunjin like it and have played it multiple times, so I consider it to be their song.
> 
> Expect another chapter within the next few days.


	4. Icicles and dead hymns

“Hey, I have a question.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Where do you go when you leave?” 

 

Jeongin finally asked the question after days of wondering, curiosity getting the better of him. He currently had his little white wings outstretched, having finally mastered materializing them after a while of practice and Hyunjin helping him and was very proud of himself. They knew each other quite well by this point. Jeongin was a quick learner which made Hyunjin sad because that meant he wouldn’t get to see him as often when they were done. 

 

The question had been meant in a perfectly innocent way but even so, a jolt of nerves ran through Hyunjin. He’d been on edge ever since he’d met Seungmin because he knew what would happen if he got caught. What Hyunjin was doing could easily get him killed. He knew this. The very second the wrong person found out what he was doing, he was dead. That’s how things work up in the clouds. You disobey even for a second, and that’s it. Chan could be fairly lenient with the rules however any act of rebellion or direct disobedience and you were done for. Hyunjin knew what happened to the angels who disobeyed. Everyone knew. He had been told as a fledgling that if you were kicked out of heaven, you probably wouldn’t even survive the fall. It was an easy method of execution it has to be said. That way, the archangels didn’t get any blood directly on their hands. Even so, Hyunjin thought Seungmin was worth the risk. 

 

“What do you mean?” He tried to feign ignorance but his voice wavered halfway through his reply. Jeongin raised a eyebrow and didn’t look like he believed him at all.

 

“I’ve known you for a while now, Hyunjin. Don’t try and lie to me,” he said, completely deadpan. He crossed his arms stubbornly, his small wings folding behind his back. “You vanish all the time.”

 

“Has anyone noticed?” Hyunjin asked, hastily. Jeongin looked at him suspiciously before shaking his head.

 

“Just me. Jisung too. Changbin might’ve noticed but I don’t think he cares. Chan doesn’t know,” he told him and Hyunjin breathed a sigh of relief, which only made Jeongin more curious. “Now you have to tell me.”

  
  


“I… I will at some point, I promise,” he told him, making a mental note to talk to Jisung about that later. Jeongin’s face lit up with a smile. He had an amazing smile. It was Hyunjin’s favourite thing about him. His eyes turned into little crescents and it was incredibly sweet.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll never tell anyone,” he assured him. Hyunjin smiled gratefully. “Just as long as you tell me eventually.”

 

“Thanks,” Hyunjin said sincerely. “Now don’t you have a class of some kind to go to?”

 

Jeongin’s little face screwed up in disgust. “I hate those things. There’s no point in them.”

 

“Yeah, I know.” Hyunjin remembered his classes very well. That was how he was told everything he knew about humanity and demons and the history of the angels and the devil and the creation of the universe. To be honest, with every passing day, Hyunjin was becoming more and more convinced that it was mostly propaganda, but it had been all he’d known for his entire life until recently. Changbin had been his teacher for the most part and Hyunjin couldn’t help but wonder if  _ he  _ believed the stuff he was telling the rest of them. But then, Changbin was an archangel therefore Hyunjin had absolutely no authority to question him, not that he had any authority at all. “Just suck it up for now. You won’t have to do them forever.”

 

Jeongin let out a whine. “I have like two hundred earth years left to learn about though. It’s gonna take forever. That’s so long.”

 

“That’ll pass really quickly for you,” Hyunjin assured him. Two hundred years for a human was over two entire lifetimes, but to an angel, it was next to nothing. Jeongin was only a few thousand years old, but Hyunjin was much older. He was still pretty young for an angel, perhaps in his late teens if he were a human. He had been a tiny fledgling when the devil fell from grace, which was a long time ago and he had no memory of it. 

 

“Fine,” Jeongin said sulkily, pouting a little. Hyunjin smiled, ruffling Jeongin’s hair affectionately, which only made him sulk harder.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Okay, this one is really special.” 

 

By now, enough time had passed that Seungmin was genuinely excited about whenever he got to see Hyunjin.  “Maybe you’ve seen it before, I don’t know, but it’s amazing no matter any times you see it.”

 

The air around him was freezing cold and he could feel the cushiony crunch of snow under his feet. That was a little weird, but at least now he knew why Hyunjin had decided to wear a coat.

 

Hyunjin pulled back the hands that were covering Seungmin’s eyes to reveal what looked like a frozen lake, covered in a deep layer of snow. The entire landscape made it look like a thick, white blanket had been thrown over the world, completely covering everything. There didn’t seem like there would be any living creatures around for miles, aside from a few pine trees dotted here and there. The sky was a dark, inky blue and there stars were clearer than Seungmin had ever seen them, dotted around the sky in little groups like someone had accidentally spilled them all over the place.

 

Seungmin was slightly confused. It was beautiful, and certainly quiet which definitely appealed to him, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to be looking at.

 

“Just wait,” Hyunjin said, as if he were answering Seungmin’s thoughts. He grabbed his hand and pulled him down so they could sit together.

 

“I’m gonna get all wet,” Seungmin whined, to which Hyunjin nudged him playfully. 

 

“It’s worth it,” Hyunjin whispered, eyes fixed on the sky.

 

Seungmin sighed, feeling the wet snow already seeping into his clothes as he settled himself in the snow, looking up at the sky too.

 

The wind blew, cutting through them like ice in the cold night. It didn’t bother Seungmin much. He liked the cold. 

 

“You okay?” He asked Hyunjin, who had pulled his coat around himself protectively. The angel nodded, wrapping his arms around himself, shivering slightly.

 

“I just don’t know how you can deal with being that cold all the time,” he answered. Seungmin wasn’t exactly sure what to do to help. He could hug him, he supposed, but that would be weird and probably wouldn’t help. His natural body temperature was so cold.

 

“Anyway I can help?” He asked instead. Hyunjin shook his head, still smiling gratefully.

 

“I’ll be fine,” he assured him. “Just keep looking.”

 

The sky stayed the same deep blue for quite some time, then before Seungmin could even process it, the sky broke out into colour. It was like someone had suddenly spilled watercolor paint across a canvas, and a brush was dragged all the way across, creating a blurred line of vibrant green mixed with purples and blues and pinks. The colours seemed to move in waves over their heads like someone had flipped the ocean upside down. Seungmin didn’t understand what the word breathtaking really meant until that moment.

 

“How is it doing that?” His voice came out as barely above a whisper. He’d never seen anything like this before. 

 

“I don’t know, but the humans call it the northern lights.” Seungmin felt Hyunjin move closer to him but didn’t do anything to fight it. “It’s really nice isn’t it.

 

Seungmin nodded slowly, his mouth hanging open slightly in awe.

 

“You know…” Hyunjin moved even closer till he was right beside Seungmin. “Some humans believe that these lights are the spirits of people who have passed away, or that when a person does die, their soul goes up into the lights.”

 

“They think it’s heaven?” Seungmin asked, breaking his gaze with the sky to look at Hyunjin.

 

“In a way,” he replied, a fond smile on his lips. “Or other times, certain people believed that the lights were demons, out searching for lost souls to steal.”

 

Seungmin raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly. “Oh, really?”

 

Hyunjin shrugged meekly, backing up a little upon seeing the reaction. “Humans have a lot of different theories to explain things they don’t understand.”

 

“So which do you think is more likely?” Seungmin asked, a flare of sarcasm in his voice. “Is it heaven or is it monsters?”

 

“I never said monsters,” Hyunjin corrected immediately. He didn’t think Seungmin was a monster and he wanted to say that but the words got caught in his throat so he just swallowed them instead. He looked away from Seungmin, realising that, they hadn’t broken eye contact until that moment.

 

Seungmin felt a little bad. Hyunjin had only been trying to be nice and he’d ruined the moment. He couldn’t help but be defensive though. You try living with the knowledge that every creature in the universe thinks you’re pure evil. It’s not fun. He had a habit of projecting his own insecurities onto Hyunjin and getting defensive and he knew it needed to stop.

 

“I don’t think heaven is nice enough to look like that.” Hyunjin broke Seungmin’s train of thought as he spoke, his voice tiny. He absentmindedly drew patterns in the snow with his finger. Seungmin taking in how Hyunjin’s face looked in the light. He could’ve help how his eyes were drawn in to how the light shown on him. His long eyelashes created slight shadows on his cheeks and his skin seemed to glow under the colourful sky. But more than that, he looked vulnerable. This was a creature that could quite possibly kill him with ease, yet he was just sitting there beside him, looking completely normal. Almost human, aside from the slight glow that always surrounded him. Seungmin was entranced, but not by the light show. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. Hyunjin looked at him in surprise, opening his mouth to question what the apology was for but Seungmin continued before he could. “Thank you for showing me this. Thank you for everything. I really needed it and I didn’t even know I did.”

 

Hyunjin’s lips curved into a soft half-smile.

 

“I’m happy you like it,” he replied, voice incredibly quiet. After a few more moments of eye contact passed, Seungmin forced himself to look away or he feared he might become trapped under that gaze forever. 

 

Hyunjin, however, didn’t look away. He liked seeing Seungmin’s reactions. It wasn’t often he got to show someone things like this for the first time. It was different than if he was showing Jeongin. With Jeongin, Hyunjin would be excited because the angel always smiled so widely when he saw something he thought was cool. It could be something as tiny as a butterfly or a dog and he’d react like it was the greatest thing he’d ever seen. Hyunjin felt proud and protective because it was like they were brothers. The angels generally called each other brother and sister despite not actually being related but it never really felt much like a family. Not anymore at least. But Hyunjin had that feeling of family with Jeongin and it felt really good. With Seungmin it was not like that, Hyunjin wasn’t sure what it was because he’d never felt it before and no one had ever taught him about it but when he sharing these experiences with Seungmin, he felt so calm. It was like the demon carried a comforting energy with him wherever he went but Hyunjin wasn't even sure it was Seungmin himself. It was more the two of them being together than felt that way. It didn’t feel like he was an angel and Seungmin was a demon. They were just  _ them.  _

 

While he was thinking, he looked down at Seungmin’s hand, internally debating on whether or not he should do the thing he really wanted to do. Deciding it was better to take the risk, Hyunjin reached out and brushed his finger over the back of Seungmin’s hand, the contact sending a spark of what felt like electricity through them both. Seungmin tensed up, his eyes widening, staring down at the hand in surprise and Hyunjin felt like he’d screwed up. He was about to pull away and pretend it never happened but then Seungmin stopped him. 

 

The demon quickly linked his pinky finger around Hyunjin’s before staring in the opposite direction to hide his gaze. He could feel Hyunjin’s eyes on him, and also couldn’t prevent the tiny smile from forming on his own lips. He wanted this. He really really wanted this. He was just scared because no one had touched him like that since he was alive and he’d completely forgotten what it was like.

As the seconds creeped past in their comfortable bubble of silence, they both began to slowly move their hands closer and closer until their fingers interlocked. Both of them could feel how fast the other’s heart was beating. Seungmin’s cheeks were burning as he felt Hyunjin stroke his thumb over his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. If he’d had anything to say, it was gone now. He couldn’t find any words and talking felt like it might actually ruin the mood. He just wanted to sit and hold hands with an angel under the multicoloured sky while the freezing snow soaked his clothes for as long as he possibly could. Now whenever he saw it was winter on Earth, or he saw bright colours, or even when he looked at the night sky, he’d think about this and he’d think about Hyunjin.

 

Needless to say, that was one of the more special “dates” they went on.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk it’s still shit but what can you do
> 
> no kissing till marriage, kids. only hand holding in this seungjin household.


	5. Hold me tight (or don’t)

 

 

“You’d never keep something from me, would you?”

 

Chan had asked to see Hyunjin, mostly to check in on how Jeongin was doing. Hyunjin had told him Jeongin was great. He was so sweet and so smart and he picked up everything so quickly and had great instincts, and Hyunjin had assumed that’s all it would’ve been about, but Chan hadn’t said anything for a while after Hyunjin had done speaking. He stared at him, as if his eyes were studying him, looking for something.

 

“Why would I keep something from you?” Hyunjin replied, smiling as if it were an incredibly bizarre question, although on the inside, he felt like he could cry.

 

“I don’t know,” Chan responded, looking at him. “It’s just- we don’t talk anymore. Not like we used to. Some of the higher ups are… concerned.”

 

“Why?” Hyunjin asked. If he had to hear about these elusive higher ups one more time-

 

“We always used to know what you were doing. Now you never come to me anymore,” Chan said, his face expressionless but his eyes were ever so slightly sad. “You know they only want what’s best for you, right?”

 

“What about you? What do you think?” Hyunjin asked him.

 

“I…” Chan stammered for a few seconds. “I think you should listen to them.”

 

“I never come to you because you never have time.” It sounded a lot bitter than Hyunjin had intended it to, but then again, he was pretty bitter about it. Chan’s gaze fell to the floor. “And I don’t know why you don’t speak for yourself.”

 

Hyunjin didn’t know what made him say that, or where his sudden confidence came from, but it certainly surprised Chan and Hyunjin couldn’t work out how he would respond.

 

Chan let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hands. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been so busy.”

 

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” Hyunjin said apologetically. He knew he should be mad. Throughout his time with Minnie, he had come to notice more and more things he didn’t like about heaven, but the biggest thing was just that he missed Chan. He missed spending time with him and he was mad about it.

 

“It’s okay,” Chan told him, pulling him in for a hug. Hyunjin couldn’t help but melt in his arms a little, even though he tried to hold his resolve. He hugged him back, closing his eyes. This had been what he’d missed. “But I agree with everything I’m told. No one speaks for me, let’s be very clear.”

 

Chan continued to hug him but his tone had changed. Something about it was more authoritative and Hyunjin tensed up. The way Chan said it almost sent a chill through him because he didn’t believe what he said for a second. It was Chan’s voice but it sounded so foreign, like they were words being said by someone else, and Hyunjin, in the span of ten seconds, went from enjoying being close to his older brother again to feeling trapped in his arms. He had never even seen these higher ups these Chan kept talking about. He knew one of them was referred to as JYP but that was it. He was the one whispering in Chan’s ear and telling him what to do. That’s all Hyunjin knew.

 

“I understand,” Hyunin replied, but he didn’t. He didn’t understand at all. All he knew in that moment is he wanted to get far away from here. He wanted to find Seungmin and pretend this didn’t happen.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


With each time Seungmin and Hyunjin met, they became far closer and by now, they were both in deep. No going back. Neither one wanted to stop anytime soon. Out of all the places they went to, this one was particularly memorable.

 

It didn’t appear like much initially. Seungmin found himself in a park very similar to the one they’d met in before. It was the middle of the night and not a single human could be seen. Seungmin quickly realised it was special when Hyunjin pulled him over to a park bench to sit beside him and began to speak.

 

“You know, I remember when this entire town wasn’t here. It used to be just forest.” Hyunjin didn’t look at him as he spoke. He just continued staring out over the park. “Isn’t that weird?”

 

Seungmin hummed in agreement, eyes stuck on Hyunjin as the angel continued to wistfully talk, perhaps more to himself than anyone else at this point.

 

“I remember a time before so many things. It’s so strange to think that it’s the same places.”

  
Seungmin watched Hyunjin as he spoke, how the words formed on his lips and how his eyes seemed to twinkle with a certain sentimentality that hadn’t been there before.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I think it’s amazing what humans are able to accomplish.” Hyunjin turned to look at Seungmin, eyes glowing with sentimentality. “It’s just sad that they have to change.”

 

He lifted a hand to point down the hill to where a large children’s playground took up most of the grassy space.

 

“You see that space down there?” He drew a circle in the cold air that encompassed the entire area of grass. “That’s where Chan taught me to fly.”

 

“To fly?” Seungmin asked, to which Hyunjin responded with a nod.

 

“Yeah, I can do it instantly now, but there was a time when I couldn’t even use my wings without help.” Hyunjin’s eyes lit up with something different now. “Chan held my hands and made sure I was okay. He refused to let go until I could do it by myself.”

 

“Chan? As in the archangel?” Seungmin looked at Hyunjin for clarification, the name sounding alarm bells in his head. He’d heard all about that angel in particular but not positive things.

 

Hyunjin nodded with a wide smile. “He’s looked after me ever since I was really young. He used to always take care of me. We were so close.”

 

“Oh… he sounds nice.” Seungmin was overwhelmed by feelings of conflict. On one hand, Chan was infamous amongst every single demon for the role he played in the devil’s fall from grace and Minho was Seungmin’s dear friend. Anyone who hurt his friends was not someone he would ever be okay with. Yet, on the other hand, Hyunjin’s eyes didn’t lie. He was clearly talking about someone he loved and Seungmin wasn’t about to run his mouth about someone Hyunjin loved. He was his friend too, right? He wasn’t sure how to make friends but he liked to think he and Hyunjin were friends.

 

“I’m… not so sure,” Hyunjin suddenly confessed, eyes trained on the ground, hands gripping the front of the bench tightly, as if the topic stressed him out a lot.

 

Seungmin raised his eyebrows in surprise. That was interesting.

 

“What do you mean?” He asked. Hyunjin’s hands clenched even tighter until his arms started to shake slightly.

 

“It’s just… I have… doubts.” He whispered that last word, as if saying it any louder would cause god himself to come down from the heavens and smite him then and there. “I’m not supposed to. I’m really not supposed to, but I always have.”

 

Seungmin took a risk and reached over, covering Hyunjin’s hand with his own and pulling it away from the edge of the bench, not wanting him to hurt himself.

 

“Relax,” he muttered softly to the angel. Hyunjin looked at him in mild surprise, before holding onto Seungmin’s hand, turning to face him so he could hold it with both of his own.

 

“I’ve been questioning things for a while,” he confessed, and he had to force himself to say it because he’d been conditioned into believing deep down that he should never have thoughts like this or there was something wrong with him. “I know what you must think of Chan, but I promise you that’s not who he used to be. I remember him so clearly. He was the nicest angel you could ever meet. Now he’s… worn out, I guess. He has so much to deal with and he’s not who he used to be. Also…”

 

“Also?” Seungmin nodded encouragingly, attempting to coax more out of him. Hyunjin’s gaze came to rest on his face.

 

“When I was young, things were easy. They always are, aren’t they? The good people went to heaven, the bad ones to hell, and Chan used to smile like he wanted to instead of like he was being forced to. Something happened to him and I don’t know what, but now everything is different. I have doubts about how things are run and every single second I spend with you, those doubts grow.”

 

Seungmin was a tad taken aback. He couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty honestly. “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

 

“Don’t,” Hyunjin said quickly, moving closer to Seungmin desperately, the grip on his hand tightening. “Don’t apologise. Minnie, I’m- I’m honestly grateful. Seriously, I was already questioning things before I met you but now, you’ve helped me realise I’m not just overthinking. I just need to ask one favour.”

 

“Of course,” Seungmin replied before he could stop himself, not that he wanted to.

 

“Can you please keep meeting me like this?” It was such a simple question. Hyunjin looked so desperate when he asked it. Seungmin understood that Hyunjin obviously needed the time they spent together as much as he personally needed it.

 

If Seungmin was being honest, he had grown kind of dependent on Hyunjin. He hadn’t meant to. It had just sort of happened. He was a part of his life now and he couldn’t imagine anything being different. Hyunjin was a change in pace and it was a pace Seungmin was extremely comfortable with.

 

For Hyunjin, this was all that kept him going. Seungmin meant an escape. He needed this more than he could ever say.

 

So Seungmin, feeling Hyunjin’s desperation mixed with his own, replied with a simple: “Definitely.”

 

Pure joy erupted through Hyunjin’s body and, before Seungmin could say anything, he was being pulled into a crushing hug. He couldn’t recall the last time someone hugged him but it felt really good. Hyunjin hugged with his entire body, his arms thrown around Seungmin’s waist as he leaned into him, holding on for way too long.

 

Seungmin was surprised initially, but found himself wrapping his arms around Hyunjin’s neck, his eyes falling shut, taking in the comforting presence.

 

Hyunjin noticed a few things. He noticed that his arms fit really easily around Seungmin’s waist. He was really thin in comparison to Hyunjin himself and Hyunjin found it incredibly endearing. He also noticed that Seungmin had completely melted against him almost as soon as he’d touched him. He also noticed that this felt like the only thing that would ever matter to him again.

 

Seungmin’s deal was much simpler: he had felt touch-starved for as long as he’d been a demon, which was several thousand years by this point, and the loneliness he’d endured had felt permanent and he understood now that Hyunjin was the cure to that loneliness. He couldn’t remember a time where he felt this content. He never wanted to be without him, and he didn’t even care if that sounded clingy, or like he was going to fast or being impulsive. He just wanted him. Isn’t he allowed to be selfish and just want something even if he’s not supposed to?

 

“Just promise me one thing,” he said, voice gentle in Hyunjin’s ear, head resting against his shoulder, eyes closed. He couldn’t get over how comfortable he felt. When he finally stopped holding back and just let himself relax in Hyunjin’s hold to the point where he was basically just leaning against him, he didn’t want to let go.

 

“Anything,” Hyunjin responded immediately, voice muffled as he hid his face in Seungmin’s neck slightly.

 

“Be careful.” Seungmin wanted to protect Hyunjin from everything. “Please, with those doubts of yours. Be careful. Don’t let anyone hear them. Don’t put yourself at risk.”

 

“Okay.” Hyunjin let out a heavy sigh, holding onto Seungmin for every second he could.

 

The wind blew quietly that night, leaving the two in complete silence. The blackness of the sky wrapped around them and the only lights to be seen were the light from the crescent moon and the gentle thrumming glow of Hyunjin’s grace. The feeling of isolation was intense and cutting, yet neither of them seemed to mind. When they were with one another, the loneliness never really got to them. It just left them alone.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes didn’t check this at all so please forgive any typos or missed words. I’m extremely sleep deprived bc of SKZ and their damn eUrOPe tOuR
> 
> Chan ily im sorry.


	6. may all your troubles soon be gone

Hyunjin started out the day so excited to see Seungmin. If only it had ended that way.

 

He wondered if Seungmin would be alright but the demon seemed to be okay. He looked at him fondly, watching as he squinted around wherever they were, trying to see past the bright sunlight.

 

“So where is this?” He asked, turning to meet Hyunjin’s gaze. 

 

“Ever heard of Italy?” Hyunjin looped his arm through Seungmin‘s, pulling him along. Seungmin stumbled a bit, trying to keep up. The sun wasn’t the brightest it could be and it wasn’t particularly hot, but it was still warmer than Seungmin was used to. 

 

The buildings were different shades of brown and dusty red and were lined up in rows facing the narrow stone brick streets, each a different size and each covered in tiny windows with white frames. Every so often, the blocks of houses would break and the stone streets would climb into small white bridges, each looking down on a deep canal.

 

“Wait, there’s no roads?” Seungmin looked at the boats that were dotted up and down the canals. Hyunjin shook his head.

 

“I don’t think so. Not really at least. The entire island _floats._ Right on top of the sea. The humans built it themselves.” Hyunjin told him.

 

Seungmin‘s eyes widened. “They built an island?” 

 

Wow, he really needed to get out more. How did he not know that? 

 

Hyunjin nodded with a bright smile. 

 

“It’s really cool, isn’t it?” Hyunjin hugged the demon’s arm tighter in his excitement. Seungmin blushed slightly, just letting him do it. “Oh, I wanted to ask you something.”

 

“Oh?” Seungmin turned to face him, raising an interested eyebrow. 

 

“So you absolutely don’t need to do this at all. Please just say no if you aren’t comfortable with it. It’s okay if you don’t want to and-“ Hyunjin didn’t realise he was rambling until Seungmin pulled his arm away, opting to take Hyunjin’s hands instead, a shy smile on his pretty face. 

 

“Just say it, idiot,” he teased playfully. 

 

“Do you think, maybe…” Hyunjin began. “We could talk to some of the humans?”

 

Seungmin’s eyes widened a little. “What?”

 

“I just think it could be fun, you know?” Hyunjin’s cheeks turned pink and he looked like he was embarrassed about even suggesting it. “You know what? You’re right it’s stupid. Just ignore me.”

 

“Hey.” Seungmin took a step closer to Hyunjin, squeezing his hands reassuringly. “I didn’t say it was stupid. It’s just dangerous, you know? But…”

 

He trailed off, studying Hyunjin’s features while he made his decision. _Shit, he was really pretty_. He never failed to completely take Seungmin’s breath away, whether he wanted him to or not. His features were so innocent and sweet too. They embodied his personality and Seungmin just couldn’t bring himself to say no.

 

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt for a few minutes,” he decided begrudgingly. He didn’t know what was happening. He’d never normally do this, but Hyunjin had seemed so enthusiastic about it, so he caved.

 

“Really?” Hyunjin exclaimed excitedly, leaping on Seungmin and hugging him tightly. Seungmin let out a whine of annoyance, pretending to shove him off, all while secretly enjoying it. “Okay come on.”

 

He let go of Seungmin and grabbed his hand, pulling him behind him.

 

“Ready?” Hyunjin asked. Seungmin looked down at their hands, nodding apprehensively. Something about this was still sounding alarm bells in his head but all the same, he closed his eyes, allowing the humans to see him. When he opened his eyes and looked at the people in the street who were passing by. Some of them looked back and that really scared him.

 

“Come on, it’s alright,” Hyunjin whispered to him sweetly. “Just walk beside me, okay?”

 

Seungmin nodded, walking slightly behind Hyunjin, kind of like a child hiding behind their mum. Hyunjin noticed how withdrawn he’d become and took Seungmin’s hand, lacing their fingers together. That made Seungmin smile and relax a little.

 

The people they walked past, whether they were coming from the opposite directions or standing in shop doorways or just loitering in the middle of the street, stared at them. Not all of them. Some people were too busy and some of them simply just didn’t care, but the people that stared really stared.

 

Admittedly, they did look a little strange. They were both visibly not from around here, and one of them was dressed entirely in white, the other in nothing but black. Plus they were holding hands. That might freak some people out. 

 

“What did you want to show me?” Seungmin asked, whispering his question into Hyunjin’s ear like he was too shy to say it any louder. “Like why did you want the humans to see us?”

 

“I just wanted you to see that it’s not as scary as you think,” Hyunjin whispered back to him, dropping their hands and slipping his arm around Seungmin’s shoulders instead. Seungmin couldn’t help the little shudder that ran through him when Hyunjin’s lips accidentally brushed his ear. “And I just think it’s really pretty.”

 

They rounded a corner where the street ended and Seungmin was suddenly hit with a wave of lightheadedness that made him stop in his tracks. The narrow street ended and expanded out onto a much larger square, like a town centre maybe. It was packed with humans naturally.

 

“You okay?” Hyunjin asked, suddenly really concerned. Seungmin tried to shake it off.

 

“Yeah… yeah it’s nothing,” Seungmin muttered in response, very confused as to why that happened. Hyunjin stopped in front of a large building that towered over them both. Carved into the stone of the walls was what looked to be either humans or perhaps even angels of some kind. Hyunjin let go of Seungmin for a few seconds, moving to get a closer look. A lot of humans seemed to be crowding near this building which must mean it was important.

 

Seungmin looked around. He could see a giant pine tree in the distance, covered in colourful decorations and the edges of all the surrounding buildings were lined with pretty white lights.

 

“Must be December,” he thought to himself before being hit with another wave of dizziness. What was happening? 

 

“Excuse me?” Hyunjin looked around at the sound of a voice that wasn’t Seungmin. A middle aged woman stood behind him and had evidently been directing her question towards him. “You aren’t from around here, are you?”

 

“How could you tell?” Hyunjin replied smoothly, shooting her a smile. He had a very particular aura around him that was calming for humans and they couldn’t help but be drawn to him. One of the benefits of being an angel, he supposed. That was probably why this woman was talking to him. 

 

As Hyunjin started talking cheerfully to the woman, Seungmin looked around. The light seemed a bit too bright all of a sudden and his ears had starting ringing. He wasn’t sure what was wrong until he overheard something the woman said to Hyunjin.

 

“...and this is the biggest Church in all of Venice…”

 

A jolt of fear and pain went through him at the same time. He couldn’t be this close to a church. They were everything he wasn’t and just being on the blessed grounds of a church could eventually kill him if he was there for long enough. They were specifically supposed to keep things like him out and so even by being close, he could feel every cell in his body being attacked and drained of energy.

 

“Hyunjin?” He looked around for the angel, not wanting to go too far away from him. It had been his intention to just walk further away so he wasn’t on holy ground anymore, but there were too many people gathering outside and he couldn’t push through the crowds.

 

He could see Hyunjin quite close to him but he was far too busy talking to a human to pay attention. The swimming feeling in Seungmin’s head was only growing to the point that it was getting harder and harder for him to see.

 

“Hey, kid are you alright?” Seungmin couldn’t quite make out the voice, but he didn’t recognise it. He doubled over in pain, which was growing more and more with every passing second and now tears were blinding his vision. 

 

“Jinnie…” Seungmin tried to hold onto the wall closest to him to keep himself upright, but that was a mistake. It immediately seared his skin. He winced, stumbling backwards, the steam rising from his hands, earning a few terrified looks from the people around him. “Jinnie, I really don’t feel good…”

 

Hyunjin looked over at the commotion and saw people crowding around Seungmin which immediately filled with fear.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said to the woman quickly, leaving without a second thought. He pushed past all the people just in enough time to see Seungmin faint. He caught him before he could hit the ground, suddenly understanding what had happened. 

 

All the people around them whispered under their breath, staring in horror at Seungmin like he was some kind of monster. Not a single one of them made a move to help him. Hyunjin hadn’t seen what they’d seen, but even so, what gave them the right to look at him like that?

 

“None of you will remember this,” he told them all, looking around at them all. The humans all blinked quickly, looking slightly disoriented before they all walked off in different directions as if nothing had happened.

 

Technically Hyunjin wasn’t supposed to do things like that. Wiping memories is something he knew how to do but he wasn’t really permitted to do it, but then again he wasn’t allowed to talk to demons and yet here he was. 

 

He turned his attention back to Seungmin, who was still unconscious. Hyunjin was the only thing keeping him upright. 

 

He screwed up his eyes, holding tightly onto Seungmin who stirred weakly in his arms, his head lulling against his shoulder, and flew away to the first place that came into his head. It didn’t matter where. Just not here.

  


They landed in a snowy field. Hyunjin almost fell over upon landing. He lay Seungmin down in the grass, kneeling beside him. The sky was black, the stars staring down at them. They were in a very different part of the world. 

 

“I’m sorry,” he told him, tears blinding his vision. He stroked the hair off Seungmin’s forehead, gasping at how hot he felt. “I should never have taken you there. It was selfish. I just didn’t think-“

 

Seungmin groaned, opening his eyes blearily. “Hyunjin?”

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m here Minnie,” Hyunjin said hurriedly, helping him sit up.

 

“Did I pass out?” Seungmin rubbed his eyes, blinking and looking around. “Where are we?”

 

“I- I don’t know. I just need to get you out of there.” Hyunjin kept stuttering, genuinely feeling freaked out. “Minnie, I didn’t know. I promise. I didn’t know that would happen to you. I didn’t even think that could hurt you since everything else I thought I knew about you wasn’t true, you know? I swear I would never ha-“

 

“Hey.” Seungmin still felt dizzy but he reached out and touched Hyunjin’s cheek, holding it in his hand, eyes not completely focusing on him. It seemed to calm Hyunjin almost immediately anyway though. “You didn’t know. It’s alright.”

 

Seungmin blinked, trying to stop everything from spinning as he stared at his own palm, noticing the blotchy red burns on his hand..

 

“Let me see,” Hyunjin requested, tears still in his eyes. Seungmin pulled back his hands, peering down at both of them. Both were horrifically burned but they would probably heal completely over time. He reluctantly held out his hands, and Hyunjin held them in his own, looking at them and gasping. “Minnie… how could I let this happen to you? It must hurt.”

 

Seungmin shrugged. Truthfully, it hurt a lot but he didn’t want Hyunjin to get even more upset. Hyunjin didn’t look like he believed him at all though.

 

“Do you think you can stand?” Hyunjin took his hands very gently, making sure he didn’t touch the burn marks. Seungmin closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to steady his vision completely before nodding. 

 

Hyunjin tried to pull him up, but Seungmin’s head swam and he lost his balance, slumping against the angel, who held him upright again.

 

“Sorry, jinnie,” Seungmin slurred slightly, all the blood suddenly rushing to his head, putting his arms around the angel’s neck and holding on. “Just gimme a few seconds.”

 

His eyes were closed and he pressed his forehead against Hyunjin’s, an action that was completely accidental. He was just trying not to fall over. Still it made Hyunjin’s heart race as he gripped Seungmin’s waist, letting him lean against him. 

 

After a few moments, Seungmin’s eyes fluttered open, seeming more steady and focussed now that he’d had time to let his head stop spinning. He let out a tiny gasp, his big eyes widening when he saw how close they were standing. If he leaned forwards a few centimetres, their lips would touch and if he was being honest with himself, he was tempted and Hyunjin looked as if he felt the same. 

 

“Sorry,” Hyunjin stammered, breathlessly, although he really didn’t sound too sorry at all. More taken aback than anything else. “Too close.”  
  
He didn’t make a move to step backwards however. He just held on.  
  
The two subconsciously moved even closer towards each other, Hyunjin tilting his head and leaning in. Their noses brushed together and Seungmin could feel Hyunjin’s breath on his skin and his eyes on his lips but then just before they could touch, the sound of a bell could be heard from the near distance. Seungmin looked over in the direction of the sound, whereas Hyunjin stayed fixated on him, wanting to lean in more but thinking better of it. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and mourning the loss of the moment.

 

“Can we go see what it is?” Seungmin asked, looking back at him hopefully. Hyunjin wasn’t sure why Seungmin was so anxious to go and see what it was. The bell kept going off and it was obviously coming from another church to mark the passing of midnight. But even so, Hyunjin nodded immediately, pulling one of Seungmin’s arms over his shoulders and keeping his own arm around his waist to support him.

 

The snow crunched under their feet as they walked, disturbing the silent night air. Thankfully there wasn’t a human in sight, which relieved them both. Hyunjin couldn’t exactly say he was as fond of them anymore. Not now that he’d seen first how they’d responded to Seungmin. They had no right to treat him like that. They didn’t even know him.

 

They reached the edge of the field and the beginning of the small town where the sound of the bell had been coming from. It had stopped ringing, having reached its nightly quota of twelve chimes. Instead, both Seungmin and Hyunjin could hear the sound of singing coming from the nearby church. 

 

They walked further into the town, their footprints the only marks on the fresh fallen snow, passing a number of silent houses, shops and other various kinds of buildings and they all had one thing in common. Seungmin took in all the different colours of lights decorating the buildings. It was like the decorations in the other place, but these ones were much nicer in Seungmin’s eyes. He could also make out the church at the end of the street, the lights inside illuminating the ground outside. 

 

“I think it’s Christmas day wherever we are,” he said, turning to Hyunjin with a smile.

 

“If you aren’t comfortable-“ Hyunjin began but Seungmin shook his head, still smiling.

 

“I always liked Christmas,” Seungmin told him happily. “It’s such a good time on earth. Even if it’s not true, the pretence of world peace and happiness is still a sweet sentiment. It’s just…”

 

He trailed off, eyes fixed on the light of the church and the sound of the choir singing hymns the smile falling from his face.

 

“What?” Hyunjin asked hopefully, causing Seungmin to snap out of the trance he was in. He looked at Hyunjin, smiling again except this time he didn’t look as happy.

 

“Oh it’s nothing. It’s just…” Seungmin’s gaze fell to the floor. “I’ve always loved Christmas, but it was never something I could have. Not even when I was alive.”

 

“Alive…?” Hyunjin realised Seungmin had never really talked about how he’d died or what it had been when like he was alive. He’d always thought about asking, but it just seemed invasive.

 

“Something happened when I was alive. I guess I must’ve done something make to religious people hate me. I was never allowed to join in on fun things like that. I might’ve had a few Christmases when I was young, but if I did I don’t remember them and they stopped when I got older.” Seungmin said nonchalantly, as if it didn’t even matter, whereas Hyunjin was on the verge of tears again.

 

“You guess? You don’t remember?” He asked him. Seungmin nodded, still smiling.

 

“It’s that thing that happens to humans where something is so traumatic that their brain just sort of… deletes the memory,” Seungmin explained. “Whatever it was was connected to how I died. I want to remember sometimes but then again, I must’ve forgotten for a reason. It was a long time ago. I guess it’s sort of handy that I can’t go near churches anymore. They just make me feel scared and I don’t remember why.”

 

“And I took you right back to somewhere that made you feel that,” Hyunjin whimpered. 

 

Seungmin looked over and saw the tears streaming down Hyunjin’s cheeks and reached over to wipe them away with his thumb, hissing when the tears burned his skin. 

 

“Why do I keep hurting you?” Hyunjin breathed, backing up away from Seungmin, a horrified look on his face. “I keep…”

 

“Hyunjin-“ Seungmin tried to step forwards, but Hyunjin flinched backwards. 

 

“I can’t- I can’t do this to you,” Hyunjin stammered, running a shaking hand through his hair. “I’m hurting you. I don’t want- I don’t want that.”

 

“Jinnie just slow down for a second,” Seungmin pleaded but Hyunjin was panicking far too much to listen to him.

 

“I need to go,” Hyunjin decided. The realization that he was never supposed to be near Seungmin was hitting him all at once and he didn’t know how to comprehend it. Everything about them just didn’t fit together even if it felt like it did. He’d forgotten in all their fun that they were still polar opposites. There were so many things Seungmin would never be able to do with him and it wasn’t fair.

 

“Okay, just wait a minute,” Seungmin interrupted. “Look, I know you’re scared but it really doesn’t hurt that much, and it’s not your fault.”

 

“Minnie, how can I ever be near you if I can’t touch you?” Hyunjin asked, more tears running down his cheeks.

 

“You can touch me,” Seungmin said, stepping closer to Hyunjin and reaching out to take his hands. Hyunjin flinched a little, but reluctantly let Seungmin take them. “Look, you’re just panicking okay? Just try and calm down.”

 

Seungmin placed Hyunjin’s hands on his shoulders.

 

“See? You can touch me. It’s okay.” He assured him. “It’s not your fault. Please don’t do that to yourself.”

 

Hyunjin slid his hands down to rest on Seungmin’s waist, his face tear stained and his eyes all puffy. He was sure he looked like a mess, but Seungmin genuinely didn’t care. He liked how he looked regardless, a fact he’d accepted by now.

 

“I just need some time to think things over,” Hyunjin told him. It was probably for the best even if it hurt. He was too impulsive. “I need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

 

He reluctantly let go of Seungmin’s waist. He had to force himself to do it because if he had it his way, he’d never ever let go of him again. 

 

Seungmin tried to grab his hands but Hyunjin pulled them away.

 

“Jinnie, don’t go,” Seungmin pleaded. Hyunjin hugged his arms around himself.

 

“I can’t- can you just give me some time to work some stuff out?” Hyunjin asked. “I just need to go. I’m sorry. I can’t be here. This is better for you.”

 

“Jinnie, it’s really not a big deal, I swear,” Seungmin protested. “Please don’t leave me.”

 

Hyunjin wanted to hug him or just be near him for as long as he could. He wasn’t sure how to describe how he felt, but the concept of Seungmin being hurt was unbearable when all he wanted to do was make him happy. Hyunjin wasn’t sure when this happened, but he’d known Minnie for a while now and that’s why it freaked him out so much. He really really cared about him. Probably far too much. That’s how he justified what he did next.

 

Before Seungmin could say another word, Hyunjin locked eyes with him one last time and then vanished with a gust of wind and a flurry of snow and feathers, the fluttering of wings echoing in the cold night. 

 

Seungmin looked down at the footprints in the snow, the only reminder that Hyunjin had ever even been there. He swallowed down the lump in his throat, not about to cry no matter how much it hurt. Maybe it was because he still felt so weak, or maybe it’s because he had an attachment to Hyunjin that he didn’t understand but he didn’t like when he was gone. He hated seeing him leave. He _hated_ it.

 

Snow fell in thick white flakes, although the ground was already covered, as well as the roof tops and the bare tree branches and the gravestones in the graveyard out the front of the church. The sky was clouded now, partially concealing the moon from view, bright beams of light breaking through as the clouds blew along.

 

Seungmin stood alone in the street. His angel had flown away and left him all alone with nothing but the cold wind, the echoing voices of Christmas carols that would never be for him and an empty feeling in his chest.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew it couldn’t write one nice chapter without some kind of angst. I can’t be trusted ever.
> 
> Anyway I hope this was a decent update? Idk how it became about Christmas during the middle of July but Christmas is the superior holiday so
> 
> Btw the title is based off Christmas Lights by Coldplay. It’s a really cute song. :(


	7. I can’t escape the way I love you.

* * *

 

Seungmin would have to say, if you asked him to rate the last date he’d gone on from one to ten, that being abandoned in the middle of the street in some random town on Christmas Day while being injured was sitting at a solid two out of ten. The only way it could’ve been a one was if Hyunjin had pulled out a knife and literally stabbed him in the heart.

 

After he’d been left in the cold that night, Seungmin returned to hell with a feeling that could only be described as if someone had tied weights around his heart and left them there to pull it down through his chest. He just felt sort of empty now.

 

Even so, he went back to the park where he usually met the angel almost every day just to check if he was there. No one came though.

 

Weeks crept by, and then months. Normally he’d barely notice the time passing, since he was gonna be alive for all eternity but now that he had something to miss, it seemed to drag by, each second weighing him down more and more.

 

He seemed to be having a physical reaction to Hyunjin’s absence too, which was… weird. He didn’t understand why. He just felt sort of ill, like he was a recovering addict or something. 

 

Did Hyunjin do something to him? To make him weaker? There was no way, right?

 

It was a pretty nice day. The sky was clear and the sun was out. Children’s laughter could be heard from the nearby park. Seungmin looked around at all the humans who had no idea he was even there. He saw mothers pushing their babies in strollers and parents playing with their kids and couples with their hands interlocked and thought about how nice it must be. To be human. Seungmin never got to have anything like this when he was alive. He’d died so young so he never got the chance. 

 

Honestly, the rational part of his brain had accepted that Hyunjin was gone. Soon enough, he’d forget all about him and move on. All the best parts of his life seemed to not last that long. The irrational part of his brain clung to the memories, unwilling to ever let go of them.

  


_“Is everything okay?”_

 

_Seungmin turned to Felix one day, looking at him quizzically._

 

_“What makes you think something’s wrong?” He asked with a sweet smile._

 

_“I don’t know. You just seem a bit different,” Felix replied with a shrug and a concerned look on his face._

 

_They watched the children run around in front of them, screaming and laughing. As demons, they tried to make hell as comfortable as possible for the creatures that ended up there when they probably weren’t meant to. Case and point: children._

 

_Children weren’t supposed to die in the first place, let alone end up in a place like this. Everyone here, in sector 3, believed they’d made it to heaven, and who were Seungmin and Felix to tell them otherwise? Better to live in ignorance than have to face reality._

 

_This place was where Seungmin had ended up when he first arrived after dying. Each human or creature with a soul is supposed to get their own personal “heaven” (it’s not really heaven obviously) which coordinates with the place that made them feel happiest when they were alive, however when Seungmin arrived it just… didn’t load. It was as if the system glitched because he just got nothing. Perhaps it was because no where had really ever made him happy._

 

_Minho had found him and sort of taken him in and over time, he became a demon. Hell had that effect on people. Even if it wasn’t an entirely evil place, it still corrupted you._

 

_“I don’t know. I really don’t know if I’m okay.” Seungmin couldn’t face lying to Felix. He could barely hold back about Hyunjin at all. He wanted to tell someone. Maybe it would make the burden a little easier to carry._

 

_“Well…” Felix began, unsure of what to say. “You know we love you, right? You matter a lot to us._

 

_Felix wrapped his arms around Seungmin suddenly, causing the taller demon to tense up slightly, but he couldn’t resist Felix’s warmth for very long and found himself melting in his hold._

 

_“Thanks Lix. I love you too.”_

  


His own friends knew something was up so it must be incredibly obvious. More than anything, Seungmin was annoyed. He hated feeling like this. Feeling so reliant on someone. He’d survived for so long without Hyunjin so why was he so affected by this?

 

Either by sheer coincidence or perhaps even fate, a flutter of wings from behind Seungmin broke him out of his thoughts. He leapt up instantly, purely out of impulse, readying to defend himself when he stopped.

 

“Hi…” 

 

Seungmin shot the angel in front of him a glare.

 

Hyunjin’s voice was quiet and he wore an uncomfortable smile on his face. Seungmin took in his appearance. He was just as beautiful as he always was, but something was off. The glow that normally shone from within him had dimmed and he looked really tired. Seungmin had never seen a tired angel before. He wasn’t sure if they even slept.

 

“Hey,” he replied, keeping his distance. He didn’t say anything else, letting the silence take over. He could feel Hyunjin’s guilt and nerves emanating out of him like waves of energy.

 

Hyunjin looked really upset. He couldn’t even look Seungmin in the eye. 

 

“So…” Seungmin folded his arms. “Did you have a good _Christmas_?”

 

He probably shouldn’t have said the last word so venomously and he felt like he saw Hyunjin noticeably wince when he did.

 

“I deserve that,” Hyunjin acknowledged. “Minnie, can we- can we talk about some stuff?”

 

“Yeah we probably should,” Seungmin agreed, voice dripping with bitterness as he glared at Hyunjin.

 

The angel let out a shaky sigh, sitting down on the opposite end of the park bench. Seungmin sat down right at the edge, as far away from Hyunjin as he could.

 

The silence washed back over them and it burned Seungmin’s ears. It was too much. 

 

“Talk then,” he said, his voice a little too demanding. He knew he was only lashing out because he was scared of being hurt, but even as he said it, he knew Hyunjin didn’t deserve that.

 

Hyunjin swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to ignore the tears that burned in the corner of his eyes.

 

“Um… so… I’m sorry I left,” Hyunjin began. “I panicked and thought if I stayed away from you, it would mean you couldn’t get hurt. But then I remembered the look on your face when I left and realised it wasn’t true. I wanted to come back immediately but I was so scared you’d just tell me to go away.”

 

Seungmin waited impatiently for him to finish. “Is that it?”

 

Okay, at this point he was just embarrassing Hyunjin for absolutely no reason. There was no need to treat him like that and Seungmin knew it.

 

Hyunjin looked like he was about five seconds away from bursting into tears, and it hurt Seungmin’s heart to look at but he kept his stony expression.

 

“I’m sorry.” Hyunjin’s voice was almost a whisper and it shook with unshed tears. “I just really really don’t like you being mad at me.”

 

“Well, I don’t like being abandoned in the middle of the street by someone I love-“ Seungmin realised his slip up the second it left his lips. He clamped a hand over his mouth, turning away from Hyunjin with wide eyes, cursing his stupid mouth. 

 

Hyunjin stared at him, open mouthed. “What?”

 

Seungmin swallowed his pride, deciding to own the slip up rather than pretending it didn’t happen. “You- you heard me.”

 

“Do you mean that?” Hyunjin asked. 

 

Seungmin sighed heavily, his facade crumbling. “Of course I do, stupid. I wish I didn’t but I do. It’s probably way too soon to say something like that too.”

 

It wasn’t as if he meant he _loved_ him. He just had love for him in some way. It would be stupid to pretend he didn’t.

You don’t get that sad about missing someone if you don’t love them.

 

“It’s not,” Hyunjin insisted and Seungmin didn’t have to look at him to know he was smiling. He could hear it in his voice. “I’m a little mad you said that before I could though. I had a whole speech planned to win you back.”

 

“Who said you won me back?” Seungmin was unable to keep the teasing tone out of his voice. 

 

The corners of Hyunjin’s lips seemed to upturn ever so slightly.

 

“Min.” Hyunjin walked over to be on the same side of the bench as Seungmin, facing him, maybe two feet apart, his eyes running over his appearance with such fondness that Seungmin almost felt scared. He looked like he’d missed him a lot, maybe as much as Seungmin had missed him. “If you hear me out, I can explain why I was gone.”

 

Seungmin shrugged. 

 

“Okay,” he said nonchalantly, sitting back down on the bench, looking at Hyunjin expectantly.

 

“Wait, really?” Hyunjin raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting it to be that easy.

 

“Yeah.” Seungmin patted the spot next to him. Hyunjin sat down, albeit slightly apprehensively. 

 

“You’re okay, aren’t you?” He looked at Seungmin’s hands, which were clasped in his lap, reaching out and taking hold of them gently. He uncurled Seungmin’s hands, looking at his palms in concern.

 

“Everything healed in a few hours,” Seungmin told him as Hyunjin looked at his hands. 

 

“Are you _okay_ though?” Hyunjin asked more seriously. 

 

“Jinnie, that wasn’t my first time with humans. I’ve literally had some of them stab me before, which hurts by the way. Would not recommend.”

 

“Why would they do that?” Hyunjin asked. 

 

“Well, sometimes people don’t take the news that you’re there to take their soul very kindly,” Seungmin said with a shrug. “Even if they agreed to give it to you.”

 

Hyunjin pulled a sort of disgusted face and Seungmin stifled a smile. It was honestly _embarrassing_ how fast his anger at Hyunjin subsided. All he had to do was look at him and he couldn’t find it within him to stay mad.

 

“I have a lot to tell you,” Hyunjin said, moving closer to Seungmin. “About why I took so long to come back. You deserve an explanation.”

 

Hyunjin reached out and touched Seungmin’s face, his beautiful features softening into a calm, gentle smile.

 

“I really missed you,” he all but breathed. Seungmin took in every single tiny detail of his face; his long, black eyelashes that lined brown eyes so warm Seungmin felt safe every time he looked at them, the few loose strands of ebony hair that the breeze had taken hold of, blowing them across his forehead gently.

 

Seungmin reached over and tucked the hair behind his ear and Hyunjin closed his eyes, leaning into his touch as if it was the most important thing in the universe.

 

“ _I missed you so damn much,”_ Hyunjin muttered under his breath, repeating himself. Seungmin let out a soft involuntary gasp, causing the angel’s eyes to flutter open.

 

“Hmm?” He asked curiously. Seungmin shook his head.

 

“Nothing. I’ve just never heard you curse before,” Seungmin told him with a grin.

 

“You’re a terrible influence,” Hyunjin teased, resting his hands on Seungmin’s waist.

 

“Hey.” Hyunjin’s hands gripped Seungmin’s waist, looking the demon in the eyes. “Mind if I try something first? I’ve never done it before and I’ve always wanted to.”

 

Those hands on Seungmin’s waist tightened their grip, although only slightly, pulling him ever closer. Seungmin let out a breathy gasp as he made eye contact with Hyunjin, their faces only inches apart.

 

“Depends what _something_ is,” Seungmin replied, his face turning bright red. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

 

“Can you trust me?” Hyunjin asked softly, giving the demon a gentle smile.

 

“I guess I could do that,” Seungmin replied. 

 

“We’ve been going on all these dates but we forgot to do the most important part.” As Hyunjin spoke he leaned in closer. Seungmin knew what was coming and closed his eyes. Hyunjin bit his lip to hide a fond smile, before he closed the distance between them, tilting his head, and finally kissed him.

 

The very second he felt Hyunjin’s lips pressed against his, Seungmin completely forgot about his thought from only a few seconds ago. He knew exactly how he felt about Hyunjin. It was so clear in that moment as he wound his arms around the angel’s neck, doing absolutely anything to have him closer. 

 

He loved him. So much. 

 

Hyunjin wrapped his arms all the way round Seungmin’s waist, pulling him as close as he could considering the positions they were sitting in. He felt like once he’d started kissing him, he couldn’t stop. 

 

Seungmin let out a noise of surprise against Hyunjin’s lips, as the angel’s arms wandered under his suit. He could feel the heat of his hands through his own shirt and he instantly just melted under his touch.

 

When they finally broke apart, Seungmin could barely look Hyunjin in the eyes he was so flustered.

 

“Wanted to do that for a while,” Hyunjin admitted with a shy smile, resting his arms on Seungmin’s shoulders.

 

“Me too,” Seungmin mumbled, but so quietly it was barely audible. Hyunjin laughed, unable to stop smiling, his familiar glow back. 

 

When Seungmin looked up, his eyes were slightly damp.

 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Hyunjin asked, stroking his cheek softly.

 

“I’ve never done that before,” Seungmin confessed. “It’s meant to be really important, the first time you do it I mean. I’m glad it was with you.”

 

Hyunjin leaned in again and pressed a soft, slow kiss to his forehead. “I love you too, Seungmin.”

 

“I believe I was owed an explanation,” Seungmin pointed out, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against Hyunjin’s. He hoped the angel was fully prepared for just how clingy he was going to be. He never wanted him to leave again. He was tempted to try and smuggle him back into hell. “Tell me what happened when you were gone.

 

“Of course, love.” Hyunjin pulled him into a hug. Seungmin lay his head against his shoulder, sighing heavily, letting Hyunjin hold him. It felt really nice to not have to be so strong for once. To be able to just let someone else have power over him felt really really good. “A lot has happened that I need to tell you about.”

  


 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s back. I’m far too stubborn to abandon this fic. But for the three people who care (and by that I literally only mean you @seungminish) now you know what Seungmin went through. 
> 
> Next chapter: what happened to Hyunjin. Spoiler: angels are dicks, if that wasn’t already clear. Except Hyunjin. And Jeongin. And Jisung. 
> 
> Anyway, apologies for any errors or typos. I’ve written very few kisses in my life and I’ve kissed even fewer people (a grand total of zero) so uh... hopefully it doesn’t suck too bad.

**Author's Note:**

> This has literally been in the works for three whole months and I have so much planned for it so please stay tuned. 
> 
>  
> 
> Also I am not religious, I just watched a lot of Supernatural when I was 16 so that’s the extent of my knowledge. I’m gonna be making a lot of rules and stuff up about heaven and hell so don’t mind the fact that it won’t exactly be faithful to anything in the bible.
> 
>  
> 
> I don’t suppose anyone cares actually. Just ignore me.


End file.
